One of the Guys
by kpopgeek16
Summary: Tenten has never been much for girlish behavior. All her life she's preferred the company of males, to the point where she's eventually considered "one of the guys." But when Neji Hyuga makes an entrance into her life, she suddenly finds herself at the center of a romance she never even dreamed of. But nothing is ever quite that simple, is it? NejiTen, SasuSaku, SasuTen.
1. Chapter 1

"Sasuke, what are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Like hell, nothing. Come on, let me see!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No, Tenten."

"Come on, I'll love you forever if you show me."

He rolled his black eyes and resolved to ignore me, continuing to type away at his laptop. I sat back on his bed and huffed loudly, folding my arms, but he barely spared a glance; ever the moody type, as usual.

"You're no fun," I complained, tossing a pillow at him.

He gave me a bland stare. "You're just now realizing this?"

I scowled at him as he lowered his eyes back to the screen. Every once in awhile he would pause in his typing, brow furrowing in thought, before picking back up again. I cupped my chin in my hand and watched him until he raised his eyes once more.

"You just gonna stare at me?" he asked, arching one slender brow.

I bobbed my head with a cheerful smile. "Yep."

"Creep." He continued working, shaking his head.

The room was silent for a few minutes, save for the clacking of Sasuke's fingers against the keyboard. "So," I spoke up. "How're things with Sakura?"

He pushed the computer away and gave me a look of intense displeasure.

"Not good, then," I said, holding my hands up.

He sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "Sorry," he muttered.

I softened a bit and walked over to stand behind his chair, linking my arms around his shoulders. He leaned back to look up at me. "Tell me what's going on?" I asked, tapping my fingers gently against his sternum.

For a moment he was quiet. "She thinks that we're too close," he said finally. He closed eyes with a long, heavy sigh.

"Oh." I chewed on my lower lip. "I guess that's a...reasonable concern for a girl to have."

"It's annoying," Sasuke muttered. He shook his head a bit, his raven hair brushing against the skin of my arms.

"But hey, you love her, right?"

He shrugged my arms off and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the desk. I moved around to his side; even for Sasuke, this behavior didn't strike me as normal. I looked down at him, furrowing my brow with concern, and put a hand on his shoulder. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and moved his folded hands away from his lips.

"Sasuke, what is it? Talk to me."

He didn't look at me. "Lately, I'm not so sure."

"About loving her?"

"About her in general. About us." He pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger.

"Well, what happened?" I put an arm around his shoulders and leaned against him. "Come on, spit it out. I'm here for you, you know that."

He rubbed at his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut. "I told you. She doesn't like he fact that we're so close."

I blinked a few times. Then the realization hit. "Wait a second. She doesn't think there's...something between us, does she?"

He gave a small half-smile at the shock in my voice, but it was one of bitterness. "She won't openly say it, but I know that's what she suspects."

"You've got to be kidding." I looked down at myself, my ripped jeans and over-sized T-shirt and Chuck Taylors so worn it was a wonder how they held together. Physically I posed no threat to Sakura, a girl so beautiful it was no surprise she had dozens of admirers pining for her. But it was true that Sasuke was my best friend, and I couldn't blame the girl for being just a little concerned. Or a lot, it seemed; Sasuke wasn't lightly bothered, and he seemed more than a bit stressed.

"I don't get it, either." He massaged his temples with two fingers. "No matter how many times I tell her, she won't listen. She'll get this...look on her face, you know?"

I nodded. "Mhm. Well, it's not __entirely__ crazy for her to think so. We've been friends for a long time, and sometimes stuff like that happens."

Sasuke only shook his head, letting out a long breath through his nose. For a moment we simply stood there, my arm around him and his head bowed forward, long black bangs hiding his face.

"I think," he said hesitantly, after a pregnant pause, "that it'd be best if I kept my distance from you, at least for a little while."

My stomach dropped. Did I hear him right? I moved away from him, folding my arms around myself. I tried to shake the hurt off as I replied, doing my best to keep my tone even, "Yeah, that might be a good idea for you both." But not for me, and he knew it.

He wouldn't look at me. "Yeah," was all he said. He ran his fingers along the edge of his laptop, black eyes far away. Part of me wondered if he thought I was going to put up more of a fight. I wanted to, but the smarter side of me knew better. If Sasuke wanted to preserve his relationship with Sakura, who was I to stop him?

__His best friend. __I pushed the thought back. It didn't matter. I was going to support him, even if I didn't like it. Or resented it.

I took a deep breath and forced a cheerful smile. "Well, I guess I'd better get going." I grabbed my backpack from his bed and slung it over my shoulder, suddenly anxious to escape. "I'll see you later."

He only nodded, and I left his room without another word. I was halfway down the stairs, lost in thought, when I nearly rammed into Itachi. He blinked at me a few times, as though trying to register that I was actually there. In all honesty, Sasuke's elder brother always intimidated me; then again, pretty much everyone was a little awed by him.

"Oh, sorry," I said, pressing myself into the wall to allow him to pass. He inclined his head with a small smile and continued on his way. I followed suit, bidding a brief farewell to Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha, and left the house. For once, I was glad for it.

The air was growing increasingly chilly as the sun disappeared beneath the horizon; fall was on its way. Even now the trees were beginning to show tinges of color as I walked beneath them, leaves swaying gently in the evening breeze.

__"I think that it'd be best if I kept my distance from you." __ Had that really just happened? The pain in my chest was answer enough. How long would this last? Did this mean, for now, that we weren't friends anymore? No, that would never be the case. Sasuke and I loved each other in our own way, almost like we were siblings. Eventually Sakura would understand, though I would be lying if I said I didn't resent her, if just a little bit, for this. She had no idea how much I needed him in my life. Sure, I had other friends, really close ones like Naruto and Shikamaru, but Sasuke was different.

As my house came into view, my stomach took on a new feeling of dread. I mounted the front steps and slowly opened the door. Please, just let me slip by unnoticed this time.

"Tenten! You better get your ass in here right now!"

No luck, again. I sighed and trudged into the living room, where my father sat in his old armchair with his customary bottle of sake. Drunk as the man was, his hearing had yet to diminish like the rest of him had. Brainless, alcohol-riddled top, thick in the middle, skinny below. I could barely recall what he used to look like.

"What, Dad?" I struggled to keep my tone light and casual, knowing that he would try his best to accuse me of smart-mouthing or whatever else if I spoke too loudly, or too slowly. Too anything, really.

"Where have you been?" he demanded.

Part of me wondered why he even bothered to ask. It wasn't like he cared. But he was in the mood to fight, so I had no choice but to try to placate him. "At the library," I lied.

He stared at me, or tried to at least; his eyes were unfocused and red at the corners, as though he'd been crying. "Are you sure you weren't running around with that Uchiha boy again?" he said in dangerous tones.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep the fear from entering my voice. "No, Dad," I said. "I was doing my homework."

"Why can't you do your homework here, huh?" He stood up, still keeping a firm grip on his bottle. "This house not good enough for you?"

"I, uh...I didn't want to bother you, in case you were busy." I could tell this was going south in a hurry. I tightened my hand around the strap of my bag.

"Stop lying!" he yelled. He lurched forward a bit, stumbling and spilling a bit of the sake on the already stained carpet. This only enraged him further. He launched the bottle at me, but I skirted out of the way and it crashed against the wall instead, splashing the foul liquid in all directions. That was my cue. I bolted for the stairs, mounting them two at a time. His footsteps were close behind, but I sprinted to my room and quickly slammed the door shut, twisting the lock.

"You open this door right now!" he shouted, hitting it with his fists sporadically. "Don't you run away from me when I'm talking to you, you ungrateful little shit! Open the goddamn door!"

Through the loud banging and name-calling, a soft __meow __came from beneath my bed. I quickly leaned down and scooped Kohaku into my arms, willing him to be quiet. The last thing my father needed was to find a cat that I wasn't even supposed to have.

"Shh, it'll be over soon," I whispered, scratching his chin. A few moments later the noise subsided, and I heard the sound of his heavy footfalls receding down the hall to the stairs. Thud. Thud. Thud. I held Kohaku close to my chest as I pressed my ear to the door. I heard the loud clinking of bottles, followed by the volume of the television cranking up.

I let out a sigh and set Kohaku down. "I bet you're hungry, aren't you?"

He pushed himself against my legs, purring. I found myself smiling as I rummaged around in my closet for the bag of cat food. Once he was eating contentedly, I sat on my bed and let my hair down from my buns. For a few moments I only twisted the pins around in my fingers, staring out the window at the gathering night, and thought again of Sasuke. More than anything I wanted to just run back downstairs and out the door, back to his house, to safety. He didn't know what happened inside these walls; no one did. His parents didn't questioned why I was over there so much. We were best friends, and that was the end of it. Whether I liked it or not, my father was the only person left to provide for me. And I did still love him, through all the layers of rage and hurt and pain within us both, because I remembered the way he used to be. But that was before the bottle claimed him, before my mom left.

I grabbed my brush off the nightstand and began working the knots from my hair. Kohaku finished his meal and pounced onto the bed; he curled up beside me, his familiar purring rumbling against my thigh. With my free hand I scratched behind his silky black ears. It had only been a few months since I found him in the bushes outside my house, no collar or tags and looking half-starved. In Sasuke's absence, he was my companion through all of my father's episodes, so long as I was careful to keep him hidden. It was no life for a cat and I knew it, but part of me argued that sending him away would be the death of him. After all, he seemed to enjoy being with me.

"We'll get out of here soon enough, little man," I murmured to him. He only blinked his large blue eyes at me, lashing his tail slowly back and forth. I set the brush aside and curled around him, staring at the ceiling until his warm purrs drifted me off to sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, it was one in the morning. My stomach rumbled its discontent. I crept to the door and slowly opened it. I no longer heard the TV, and as I tiptoed toward the stairs I heard my father's snores from beyond his bedroom door. Relieved, I made my way down to the kitchen, fixed myself a sandwich, and snagged a bottled water from the pantry before scurrying back to my room.

"Shh," I said quietly when Kohaku meowed his greeting. I fed him small pieces of the sandwich crust by the light of the moon shining through my window, his eyes glinting in the dark. I eyed the clock on my dresser again: 1:12, a little less than six hours before I had to wake up for school. I sighed and took a sip of water. They couldn't pass soon enough.

****A/N: Hey, everyone! I know this chapter is short, but I'm just getting started. Longer ones in the future, promise! Let me know if you guys like it! ~Rachel****


	2. Chapter 2

"So, Tenten," Shikamaru said, poking at his lunch with a fork. "What's the deal with you and Sasuke?"

"Yeah, he always sits here. What gives?" Naruto slurped at his noodles loudly.

I propped my chin in my hand and sighed. "It's a bit complicated."

"Well, spill it." Shikamaru set his fork down and sighed, looking tired as usual, and pushed his food toward Choji. His best friend beamed and dug in.

"Yeah, tell us what's up," Kiba said.

Very briefly I relayed the events of yesterday evening to them. Once I finished, Naruto pushed his bowl of noodles away and stood up, his expression darkening.

"That jerk," he growled. "Friends should always come first!"

"Sit down, idiot," Shikamaru sighed, pulling on the edge of Naruto's shirt. The latter sat down, passing a hand through his yellow hair with a frown. Shikamaru shook his head before turning back to me. "So basically Sakura trumped you."

"In blunt, crass terms, I guess," I said.

"That doesn't sound like Sasuke," Choji said around a mouthful of barbeque. "I mean, you guys are so close."

"Look, guys, I can't blame him for wanting to keep his relationship with Sakura going," I said, trying to defend my best friend, even though a part of me wanted to agree with Naruto and be angry.

"Well, I personally think Sakura has some jealousy issues," Shikamaru stated, rubbing at his eyes. "Looks like, to me, at least, she doesn't care about the trouble it must be causing Sasuke, knowing how good of friends you guys are."

"He doesn't look all that bothered to me," Kiba muttered. He jerked his chin at something behind me, presumably where Sasuke sat with Sakura and her friends. I forced myself not to turn around.

"Don't be so hard on Sakura, guys," Choji said. "She likes Sasuke a lot. She's just afraid of losing him."

"But losing him to me? I'm sorry, but that's a stretch," I said. But Choji was right. Sakura did care about Sasuke, if a bit too much.

"Hey, Kiba and Hinata are really good friends, but you don't see me getting all possessive," Naruto said, still scowling a bit. "Where is she, anyway?" He scanned the cafeteria a few times, but there was no sign of his girlfriend.

"That's because she's so in love with you she probably doesn't even grasp the fact that Kiba's a guy," quipped Shikamaru with another yawn. Kiba growled at him, flashing his over-sharp canines. "And no idea."

"Speaking of Hinata, she's right over there. Who's that with her?" Choji paused in his meal to look at something behind me.

I set down my water and turned around. The boy walking along beside her bore similar resemblance, though his hair was a dark brown and just as long as Hinata's deep blue. His eyes were the same clear white; even their demeanors seemed oddly alike. To the left Sakura sat at a table with Sasuke, seemingly deep in conversation. I turned back around with a tight feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Oh, that's her cousin," Naruto said matter-of-factly. "His father died so he's moving in with her family. Name's Neji or something."

"You make a family death sound so cheerful, Naruto," Shikamaru yawned. "Awkward introduction in three...two..."

"Hey, everyone," came Hinata's soft voice came from behind me. I swiveled around once more with a polite smile.

"Hey, Hina, what's up?" Kiba grinned. "Who's your friend?"

"Um, this is my cousin, Neji," she said. Her eyes moved past me to Naruto, and that familiar pink tinge colored her cheeks. Cutest couple for two years running, no surprise.

"Nice to meet you," Shikamaru drawled, looking ready to lay down and take a nap. "Name's Shikamaru."

"Choji," his best friend said around a rather large mouthful of food. I watched Neji raise one eyebrow slightly, but he said nothing.

"Hey, I'm Kiba. Welcome to the neighborhood."

"And I'm Tenten," I said with a small wave. "Nice to meet you."

He flicked his clear white eyes to me, giving me a brief once-over. "Pleasure to meet you all," he said with a slight incline of his head. He seemed to possess the same polite, impeccable manners as Hinata, and was just as talkative. Which was to say not at all.

"And you remember Naruto," Hinata said, gesturing to her rambunctious boyfriend. At this, Neji's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Looks like he was a tad protective, as well.

"Yes, of course," he said in low, even tones. I could almost hear Sasuke in his voice, unnervingly so.

"You're welcome to sit with us," Kiba said cheerfully. "Anytime you want. We don't bite-well, except for Hina. She's pretty scary when she's mad."

"Oh, hush," she said with a soft giggle. She gave Neji a questioning glance, but before she could open her mouth he spoke up.

"I appreciate the offer." His lips turned up ever so slightly at the corners, but it didn't reach his eyes. "But-"

"I sense a rejection," Shikamaru said, fingers drumming lazily against the tabletop. Neji's eyebrows rose a bit more. I kicked Shikamaru softly and gave him a warning stare. The guy had just lost his father; if he needed space, who were we, mere strangers, to deny him that?

He seemed to understand. Shikamaru may be the laziest human being I knew, but he was scarily smart. He sat back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head, and sighed through his nose. "Sorry, didn't mean to be rude." Kiba, Naruto, and Choji all looked at each other with mild surprise.

"The offer's on the table, that's all," I said to Neji. Still wearing that listless, tiny smile, he nodded his thanks and retreated from the table as Hinata took a seat beside Naruto.

"He seems...nice," Kiba offered. I rolled my eyes. Such tact this kid had.

"He just needs a bit of time," Hinata said in her soft voice, barely audible over the cacophony of students. "It's only been a few days since my Uncle Hizashi passed away."

"I'm so sorry about that, Hina," I said sympathetically. "It must be hard on you, too."

She shrugged a bit, looking down at the table. "I didn't really know him that well. He and my father didn't get along very much." She tilted her head to the side inquisitively. "Speaking of which, how is your father doing, Tenten? Have his seizures lessened any?"

I tried to maintain a steady tone as I responded. "He's still the same. He's going to the doctor again soon, though." Let the subject drop. Please, someone say something else, anything else.

"That's good," she nodded.

The table fell silent for a few moments. Finally I stared after the direction in which Neji had left. "I feel bad, leaving Neji alone."

"He's never really been much for people," Hinata said, taking the bait. "He's all right with me, somewhat, but..."

"He'll come around, don't you worry." Naruto put a comforting arm around her and squeezed. She gave him a grateful smile.

"So, Hina, could you help me out with this?" Kiba set a notebook on the table and flipped it open. "Calculus and I don't mix."

"Of course." She scooted closer to him and began walking him through a problem. Naruto watched her with a content, goofy grin on his face.

"Isn't she awesome?" he said to me, for probably the hundredth time.

I shook my head and smiled. "The best."

Choji and Shikamaru began talking about an upcoming test in their Literature class, and how they (of course) hadn't read a single page of the book they were supposed to be annotating. I sat there quietly, the urge to turn around growing stronger with each passing moment, until I could no longer resist and looked back to where Sasuke sat with Sakura. As I watched she leaned her head against his shoulder; he said something to her, and she covered her mouth as she giggled. Well, I guessed Sasuke keeping his distance was working after all.

Before I could turn away Sasuke looked up and caught my gaze. He pressed his lips into a thin line, and I quickly averted my eyes, whipping my neck around so fast that it cracked a few times. I was more than a little relieved when the dismissal bell chimed; I grabbed my things, gave everyone a "see you later" and walked out of the cafeteria to class.

"Afternoon, Tenten," Miss. Kurenai said to me as I entered the room. I returned the greeting and sank heavily into my seat. Only when I actually looked around did I notice that I wasn't the only student in the room: Neji sat in the far row, nearest the window. He turned his head to look at me, and adopted that same dull smile when I waved. Looked like this guy was going to be a tough nut to crack.

I could barely focus the entire class period. As the minutes wound down, I suddenly became aware of the fact that I wouldn't be riding home with Sasuke. Or sitting with him next class period. The familiar stab of pain poked at my stomach again, but I pushed it back; it was his decision, and I'd gone along with it willingly. All I could do was wait it out, and hope that it wasn't a permanent arrangement.

Of course it isn't a permanent arrangement-don't be stupid. I shook my head a bit, trying to dismiss the thought. But it continued to gnaw at the back of my mind up until dismissal. I shook myself out of my stupor, and was halfway out the door when Neji called my name from behind.

"Yeah?" I turned back, stepping out of the way of the deluge of students exiting the classroom.

"I'm not sure where my next class is," he said. I could tell he was trying to be friendly, maybe as a way to make up for his aloof attitude during lunch, but the words seemed stiff.

"Oh, here, let me see." I held out my hand and he passed me his schedule. "Room 368 is where I'm headed, actually. Looks like you're in luck."

He took the schedule back from me, and together we walked out of the room. Now that I stood beside him, I realized that he was almost identical to Sasuke in both height and walking speed: every two steps of mine matched one of his. I gave myself a mental shake. Stop comparing him to Sasuke. This is Neji. Neji, not Sasuke.

Hell, Sasuke. With each step down the hall the pit in my stomach seemed to grow. Normally this was my favorite part of the day, the one class I had with him. Now I wanted nothing more than to simply turn tail. I was suddenly grateful for Neji's presence, even though he had yet to say a word to me. But knowing I wouldn't be walking into the room alone was enough for me. If he wanted to be quiet, that was fine by me.

"Thank you," he said as we rounded the corner.

"No problem," I said with a smile. "I remember how lost I was when I started here. Then again, my sense of direction is already terrible."

A brief chuckle escaped him. I grinned, proud of myself for getting a seemingly genuine response from him. Maybe we had a shot at becoming, at least, good acquaintances.

"Oh," I said as he put his hand on the door handle. He turned to me, brows raising curiously. "I recommend sitting in the back. Mr. Guy tends to yell when he gets caught up in his lessons. He's pretty enthusiastic." When Neji merely blinked at me, I continued, "He spits a bit."

He looked a tad disgusted. "Noted." He pulled the door open and allowed me to pass, giving me a short nod when I thanked him.

"Ah, our new student arrives!" Mr. Guy strode forward and seized Neji's hand, pumping it up and down vigorously. He grabbed a textbook from the cabinet and shoved it at him. "Good to have you here, son. Sit anywhere you like."

Neji's look of alarm was almost enough to send me into a fit of laughter. All too quickly he followed me to the back of the room, past the empty seat where I would normally sit beside Sasuke. I could feel his black eyes on my back as I claimed a rear desk; Neji sat down heavily beside me, massaging the back of his hand.

"I see what you mean," he murmured to me.

I laughed quietly. "Told you."

While Mr. Guy blabbered on about Hinduism, I found myself staring at Neji out of the corner of my eye. He sat with immaculate posture; every once in awhile his long hair would slide over his shoulders upon leaning forward to scribble something down, only to be brushed aside with a fluid flick of the wrist. The motion would send a brief scent of something woodsy and spice-laden in my direction, and I breathed it in before I could think to stop myself.

He even _smelled _like Sasuke.

I clapped a hand to my forehead and groaned internally. Get a grip on yourself, you moron. Just forget about Sasuke for one second and focus on the lesson.

Well, easier said than done. The person in question was literally mere yards in front of me, seated in his familiar pose at his desk: hands laced in front of his mouth, elbows on the table. His leg bobbed up and down rapidly. I watched as he sat back and pressed a hand to his face, his other drumming against the page of his notebook. Very rarely did Sasuke fidget. My brow furrowed a bit, but before I could analyze him further Mr. Guy called my name.

"Tenten, what's your answer? You've been oddly quiet today." He flashed his blindingly white smile at me, leaning back against his deck. All eyes turned to me, including Sasuke's.

Shit. Of all the times to be put on the spot. My mind raced, trying to recall something, anything of what he'd been talking about. But all I could focus on was Sasuke, and his black eyes staring intently at my face. I refused to look at him; that wasn't going to assist me in any positive way at the moment.

Neji coughed a bit, placing a hand over his mouth. "Between 2300 and 1500 B.C.E.," he murmured softly.

I stared at him a moment, bewildered, but all he did was look down at his notes. "Uh..." I swallowed hard. "Between 2300 and 1500 B.C.E., I think...?"

"Precisely! Very good, very good! Now, if you all turn to page 459 in your books..."

A sigh of relief escaped me; I sat back in my seat, trying to still my rapidly beating heart. I turned to look at Neji as he flipped through the pages of the textbook. "Thanks," I whispered.

He flicked his white eyes at me briefly. "You're welcome." The corners of his lips turned up ever so slightly before he turned his attention back to the book, following along as Mr. Guy read.

"Now, Neji," he said after he finished the passage. "Tell me the difference between dharma and karma." Again all eyes were drawn to the back of the room, waiting for his answer.

Neji cleared his throat a bit and sat forward. "Dharma refers to the duty one has in their life, or their lifelong task they must complete. Karma refers to the actions that one does in relation to their dharma, or the steps that are taken to complete their task."

Not once did he falter or stutter; he seemed to almost recite the answer. Mr. Guy blinked a few times before beaming. "Looks like we have a scholar in our midst! Well done!"

"Good job," I said to Neji once Mr. Guy drew attention back to the lesson. "We haven't even covered that yet."

He rolled his pen around between his long fingers. "We covered it at my previous school."

"Oh," I nodded. My eyes drifted to the clock on the wall, and my stomach plummeted. 3:15, only twenty minutes until dismissal. I sighed softly, and my eyes again returned to Sasuke. I didn't expect to see him staring back at me, a small furrow in his brow. I set my jaw and looked away, feigning interest in my notes that I'd barely written in for the entire class period. No doubt I would regret that later-Mr. Guy had a reputation for putting the most obscure questions on his exams.

I could still feel Sasuke's gaze on me. A spark of anger simmered in my stomach. What was his deal, making such a show of himself? It had been his idea to do this whole "keeping distance" thing, not me. Yet from the way he'd been behaving, one would think it had been me who stuck the knife in his gut and twisted. Gripping my pen with unnecessary force, I began taking random notes from the textbook to keep myself busy until the end of the class period.

"See you later, Neji," I said as I quickly shoved my belongings into my bag. He barely had time to utter a "see you" before I was striding toward the door. I felt a small twinge of guilt, brushing him off in such a manner, but I shook it off. We barely knew each other; it wasn't like he was concerned.

I twisted the combination to my locker a good three tries before it finally swung open. With burning frustration I roughly began shoving my homework for the night into my bag. I needed to calm down, and I knew it. But all I could think about was Sasuke's stare, the way his black eyes seemed to sear holes through my body. I slammed the locker shut and shouldered my bag. And this was only day one.

"Hey, Tenten!" Naruto's voice stopped me halfway down the hall; his vivid blond head bobbed and weaved through the crowd as he worked his way toward me. "We're gonna grab some ice cream if you wanna come with."

"Uh..." Images of my father flashed through my mind, of the bottle slamming into the wall, of his footsteps pounding behind me. Did I dare risk incurring his further wrath at showing up late again? I opened my mouth to decline when a flash of pink whisked past me. I looked behind me just as Sakura barreled into Sasuke, pressing a kiss to his cheek. My insides twisted for the umpteenth time that day. With new resolve I turned back to Naruto and bobbed my head with a smile. "Yeah, sounds good." No doubt I was going to regret this as well, but I was beyond caring.

"Awesome!" Naruto grabbed my arm and started tugging me along behind him. "Hinata's coming along too. She said she was gonna try to persuade Neji, but she said not to bet on it."

"Oh, okay," I said, stumbling a bit. We finally came to a stop outside of the building, where Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata and Neji stood by the parking lot. I supposed Hinata had succeeded in her persuading. As we approached his ghostly eyes alighted on me, and he gave a little nod of greeting.

"All right, let's get going!" Choji rubbed his hands together.

"Wait, who's car are we taking?" Kiba asked.

All eyes turned to Shikamaru. "All right, all right," he muttered. "I'll go get the Dragmobile." Kiba and Naruto snorted with laughter as he walked away, and moments later he and his van pulled up to the curb. I found myself seated next to Neji in the very back; Naruto, of course, claimed shotgun, and he gave a look of apology to his girlfriend seated between Kiba and Choji.

"I still can't believe your mom gave you the van," Naruto snickered.

"Shut up," came the usual response.

"Or what?"

"You sure you wanna find out? It's a long walk to the ice cream shop."

"You're bluffing."

"Wanna bet?"

"Are they always like this?" Neji said to me, expression mildy amused.

I laughed. "Worse, believe me."

"You're welcome to join him, Tenten," Shikamaru said, looking back at me through the rearview mirrow. I held up my hands in a gesture of "I surrender."

The ice cream parlor was nearly empty; Choji made a beeline to the counter while the rest of us browsed the choices for the day.

"Ooh, they have cinnamon roll," Hinata beamed.

"Pumpkin, huh," I said, peering at the orange-colored substance. "Look's like they're breaking in the fall flavors." I got a single scoop and went to sit down with Choji. Neji claimed the seat on my other side, resting his arms on the table. "You're not getting any?" I asked. "Do you want some of mine?"

He shook his head, and he actually wrinkled his nose a bit. "I'm not particularly fond of pumpkin."

I popped some of it into my mouth and made a face, pushing it toward Choji. He eagerly accepted my offering. "I guess I'm not either."

The others sat down a few moments later; when Kiba finished, he stood up and shouldered his bag. "I gotta head home and walk Akamaru. He's probably going crazy right now."

"Doesn't he live across town?" Naruto inquired, brow furrowing as he watched Kiba leave the shop.

"Don't worry, he runs it all the time," Shikamaru said with a wave of his hand. "More luck to him."

My stomach dropped. I'd completely forgotten about Kohaku. I'd always taken the chance in leaving him alone in the house with my father, but last night's incident had no doubt put him into a foul mood -he always left surprises for me after. Broken bottles along the halls, food littering the kitchen floor, my room torn to pieces. And it was the last one that made me launch to my feet.

"I've got to get going, too," I said. "Shika, do you mind dropping me off at Sasuke's?"

He raised his eyebrows, no doubt puzzled by my request, but shrugged his consent. I bid everyone a swift goodbye and followed Shikamaru out to his car. "Don't you touch my ice cream, Choji," he called over his shoulder warningly.

The drive to Sasuke's was mostly silent, which I appreciated. Shikamaru was never one to pry. When the van came to a stop outside Sasuke's house, I hopped out with a swift "thanks" and shut the door before he could respond. I waited until he was out of sight before heading off down the street as fast as the weight in my bag would allow me. I didn't stop even when Sasuke's black BMW drove past, Sakura's form clearly apparent in the passanger seat.

I should be sitting there. The thought nagged me, despite my futile attempts to push it away. Only when my house came into view fifteen minutes later was I able to dismiss it. I could only hope for minimal damage as I mounted the front steps and pushed the door open. No yells greeted me this time, to my pleasant surprise, but I didn't dare relax yet. I entered the living room slowly to find my father passed out on the couch, snoring loudly above the noise of the TV. I watched him for a few moments before heading up the stairs; the stairs creaked, but not enough to wake him.

As I rounded the corner to my room, I stopped dead in my tracks. In my hurry to leave the house this morning, I'd left the door wide open. My heart raced a mile a minute as I scanned my bedroom, thankfully not destroyed, but missing one key thing.

Kohaku was nowhere to be found.


	3. Chapter 3

My hands were shaking as I left the room. I checked the bathroom, my father's trashed bedroom, the hall closet and laundry room,until I came to the alarming conclusion that Kohaku had to be somewhere downstairs.

Downstairs. With my father asleep on the couch.

I almost forgot my attempts at being quiet as I descended the stairs. Thankfully my father hadn't moved and was still snoring loudly. I tiptoed past him to the kitchen and immediately recoiled; the room was absolutely atrocious. There was food covering the floor, as well as a number of empty bottles, and it reeked of pickled plums. I held my nose as I stepped over the mess.

"Kohaku?" I whispered, peeking under the table. "Here, kitty. Come on out, it's okay." I checked every inch of the kitchen, checking under the table, the pantry, even some of the cabinets that I knew were impossible for him to open., all the while softly calling his name.

Minutes passed, agonizingly slow. I listened for his familiar _meow_. but heard nothing. The alarm grew in my stomach as I neared the sliding door leading into the backyard and found it open, just wide enough for, say, a cat to slip through. No doubt my father had gone out for a smoke and forgotten to shut the door all the way. I knew it wasn't on purpose, for if my father had discovered Kohaku on his own accord he would have killed him. Heart pounding in my ears, I pushed the door the rest of the way and ran outside.

"Kohaku!" I circled the perimeter of the house, checking all the bushes, but found no sign of him. "Kohaku!"

With a defeated sigh I stood in the front yard, arms limp at my sides, as the familiar sting of tears branded my eyes. I blinked them back furiously. It was better this way, Kohaku being gone. Maybe someone else would find him and give him the proper care he deserved. He didn't need to be around the likes of my father.

As I returned to the back of the house to the sliding door, I was greeted by the disheveled form of my father. My heart dropped to my stomach, but I squared my shoulders and tried my best to look nonchalant as I approached.

"What are you doing out here? Get your ass in here and clean this shit up!" He seized me by the hair, ripping one of my buns free from its restraints, with quicker reflexes than I would have expected from someone with a hangover. Pain seared through my scalp as he dragged me inside and slammed the door shut, rattling the door frame.

While I began putting the remnants of food and trash into a large bag, my father grabbed another bottle of sake from the fridge and popped it open. He watched me through bleary, red-rimmed eyes as I cleaned up the floor. Then he seemed to grow bored and padded from the room with slow, shuffling steps. I reached up and, carefully, rearranged my free hair into its bun, wincing at the tenderness in my scalp. That was going to sting for a few days.

For another two hours I cleaned up the kitchen, sweeping and mopping the floor with exceedingly careful detail: if I missed something, he would make me pay for it. Finally, back cussing with aches, I dared to leave the kitchen and aim for the stairs.

"Hey, I'm not done with you yet!" I heard the sound of a bottle being slammed onto the coffee table. "Get back in there and make me something to eat."

I took a deep breath. "There's barely anything left, Dad. Most of it was on the floor."

"Don't you sass me, you ungrateful bitch." He staggered a bit and fell back onto the couch. Without another word I retreated back to the kitchen. Thankfully his tirade hadn't reached the freezer. I grabbed a bag of frozen peas and a cut of steak, and while they cooked on the stove I kept glancing out the window, hoping for a glimpse of Kohaku. But in the gathering dusk, his black pelt was nearly indiscernible. I sighed heavily and looked back at the steak. I could grab anything from the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, end his streak of abuse for good. How many times had I made him food, thinking this? I shook off the thought with a feeling of nausea. As much as I may hate the man, I could never kill him. He was my father, and deep down I still loved him.

"Hurry it up!" he yelled from the living room. I sighed and turned the burners off; I guessed he was having rare steak tonight. I brought him a plate, and when he didn't take it from me I set it down on the table next to his sake and again turned for the stairs. This time, to my relief, he didn't stop me.

The hope that I'd somehow missed Kohaku in my search extinguished when I entered my room and, again, found him gone. I dropped heavily onto my bed. I'd only sat there for a few moments when the doorbell sounded downstairs. I raced to the window, saw the familiar red of Shikamaru's van, and felt my heart plummet to my stomach.

Oh, no.

The doorbell rang again. "Tenten!" my father yelled. "Hurry up and get that!"

I practically sprinted down the stairs and opened the door halfway, trying to keep my father from view. Shikamaru stood on the doorstep, one hand shoved into the pocket of his baggy jeans, the other holding a book.

"Found this in the backseat, figured it was yours," he said, extending it to me. "You're the only one of us who actually reads willingly."

I took it from him and smiled. "Thanks. I'll see you later." He looked ready to say something else, but I had no choice but to shut the door in his face. I stood by the door, rooted to the spot by my father's glare. Only after he heard the sound of Shikamaru's van driving away did he stand up from the couch, and I braced myself for what was to come.

"Come here." When I obeyed, he reached forward and grabbed me roughly by the arm. I winced as his fingernails dug into my skin. "Who was that?" he demanded.

"No one," I said, "just someone from school. He brought me a book I forgot."

"He said you left it in his car," Dad said, narrowing his eyes. "You been whoring around with guys again, huh? Lying to my face!"

"No, Dad-" Before I could finish, his slap cracked across my face, and it was only his hand wrapped tightly around my forearm that kept me on my feet.

"What have I told you about lying to me?" he yelled, and struck the other side. Both of my cheeks smarted as my eyes watered, but I didn't cry. Crying was for the weak, he always said, and it only made him more angry. He stared at me for a long moment, then released me with a rough shove that almost sent me to the floor. I wasted no time in heading back up the stairs to the safety of my room.

My cheeks throbbed with pain as I investigated the damage in the mirror. They were red and sore, but hopefully wouldn't bruise. I could explain one, but two was a stretch. I left the room long enough to retrieve a cold washcloth from the bathroom in an attempt to reduce the swelling.

One of these days, I thought as I pressed the cloth to my skin, wincing a bit. One of these days I'm going to come home and find him dead on the floor from an overdose, or alcohol poisoning. If he was going to die, it would be on his own terms, not mine. He could drink and medicate and smoke himself to death if he wanted. I couldn't stop him anymore.

By morning the pain in my cheeks had reduced to a dull ache. One of them had bruised, though very faintly. I did my best to cover it up with what little makeup I owned before leaving the house. The walk to school only took me about forty-five minutes, but the increasingly cold mornings were doing very little by means of making it more pleasurable. I pulled my hoodie closer around me and shoved my hands deep into the pockets.

It seemed that, with each passing second, I missed Kohaku more and more. He was all I could think about as I sat through my morning classes, struggling to focus on what Mr. Hatake was writing on the board. It was getting colder-what if he froze to death, or was hit by a car? By the time lunch rolled around, I had a headache that could have split concrete. As I walked to the table, I spied the long brown-haired head of Neji seated beside Hinata, and it was the first thing that cheered me up since crawling out of bed. I claimed the remaining seat beside him with a heavy sigh.

"You okay, Tenten?"Kiba asked around a mouthful of jerky. "You look seriously beat."

"I'm fine, just didn't sleep that well. Headache." I rubbed my forehead. There was a rattling sound, and I found myself staring at a bottle of ibuprofen.

"Here," Neji said. His face seemed gentler today, not as guarded. It was a much better look for him.

"Thanks." I smiled at him gratefully and unscrewed the cap. After a few moments of chatter, I noticed Shikamaru eyeing me every now and then. He was never much for words to begin with, but he was oddly quiet. I figured that I'd probably hurt his feelings with my treatment of him yesterday night. When the dismissal bell trilled I waited for him to return from dumping his leftover food.

"Hey, Shika," I said, waving him over. He shoved his hands into his pockets, slouching as always as he walked over. "I'm sorry about last night. I was in the middle of something with my dad." Sort of the truth, right? I lifted my hand to my cheek almost unconsciously and had to force myself to drop it.

"Right." He nodded a bit, but something about his expression gave me the clear indication that he didn't believe me. His eyes dropped to where my hand had been, and they narrowed ever so slightly. "I guess that would explain the bruise, then." I opened my mouth to fumble some lame excuse, but he spoke first. "I drove back around, Tenten, you're on a dead-end street. I saw what he did to you." When I looked bewildered, he rubbed the back of his head with a sigh. "Windows are things, you know."

Suddenly my mouth was painfully dry. Swallowing hard, all I could say was "Oh."

"So, is that's him being 'sick'?" He made air quotes around the word with his fingers. "Sick in the head, you mean."

"Shikamaru-"

"Tenten, the guy _beats you_. Have you not told anyone about this?"

"No, and neither can you," I replied, panic rising in my stomach. "He's all I have left, Shika. He may not be much, but he keeps a roof over my head."

He didn't seem to grasp my last statement. "Sasuke doesn't even know?"

I shook my head. Shikamaru pressed a hand to his forehead with a tired expression.

"When did this start? I remember your dad, and he wasn't like this last year."

I looked down. "My mom."

Shikamaru inhaled sharply. "Shit, that's right. I'm sorry." But his tone turned darker. "Tenten, I'm serious. You're not safe there."

"I can't leave him, Shika," I said quietly. "He's my dad."

"You don't owe him anything." The one-minute warning bell sounded, and Shikamaru sighed. "We're not done talking about this. I'll meet you at your locker after school."

"Shikamaru-" I tried to protest, but he was already gone down the hallway. I shouldered my bag with a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Part of me wondered why I wouldn't listen to him, why I refused to just tell the nearest person and be whisked away from my dad forever. But the other corner of my mind, the one that still remembered and loved the person he used to be, couldn't abandon him. It's what my mother would want me to do.

Oh, my mom. As I hurried off to class I pictured her in my mind, exactly the way she was before she died. I had her brown eyes and her hair, thick and dark and unmanageable. She was the only one with enough patience to brush it for me; she knew the struggle. I would fall asleep on her lap halfway through, and I'd wake up in the morning in my bedroom. swathed in a nest of blankets. People always said I looked like her, the older I got. And once she was gone my father couldn't stand the sight of me.

Only a year had passed since then, but it felt like an entire lifetime. After the accident he gave himself over to the bottle, became violent and irritable. I couldn't have friends over anymore, so I warned them away with lies about how he'd developed seizures. No one asked questions, no one stopped by the house.

Now Shikamaru knew. Yet I couldn't deny that I felt more than a little relieved. After months of silence, of hiding bruises and keeping secrets, I could finally talk to someone. And out of everyone, Shikamaru was the only one that I knew would keep it strictly between us. I knew he trusted me, just as much as I trusted him. If I told him I would handle it, he would listen. And if not, I'd make him.

As I entered the classroom, Neji tilted his head and looked at me, and he gave a little nod of acknowledgement before turning to face the front again. Before I realized what I was doing, I passed my desk and claimed the empty one behind him, setting my bag on the ground with a heavy _thunk_.

"What?" I shrugged when he swiveled around in his chair to give me a comically bewildered stare. "You looked lonely over here."

"I'm honored to have you grace me with your company, then," he returned dryly.

I pressed a hand to my chest, feigning indignation. "Your lack of appreciation hurts."

He rolled his silvery-white eyes and twisted to face the front of the room as the bell rang. He didn't turn around for the rest of the period, but I liked to think that he was, at least a little, glad to have me there. Sure, we didn't know each other that well, but that could always change.

"Did you get a word of that?" I asked him as we left the classroom. "She lost me at 'absolute convergence.'" I shuddered a bit. "Sounds like some illness."

He gave me a look that clearly read "you have got to be kidding me." "You didn't pay attention?"

"Oh, no, I did for part of it," I replied. "But then she stopped speaking English, so I tuned out."

"Right." He shook his head, long hair swaying with the movement. "You can copy my notes."

I grinned. "Thanks a ton, you're a lifesaver."

Again with that not-quite smile. I followed him back to our desks, past Sasuke, who stared at me with his black eyes as I sat down and rummaged through my backpack. It was hard to believe that only two days had passed since we last spoken; I couldn't remember a single instance where we had gone without communication for so long, in all the years that we had been friends. Whenever we had an argument, we barely lasted a few hours before one of us gave in and apologized. Normally that was me, but Sasuke was too proud for his own good. Only, this time it wasn't a matter of pride. He made a choice, willingly. End of story.

"Neji," I said suddenly. "Would you mind switching seats with me?"

He arched one eyebrow, but he didn't question me as he gathered his things and made way for me to pass. I sat down heavily, my view of Sasuke now obscured by the blond-haired head of Ino Yamanaka.

"Thanks," I sighed. Neji only nodded silently and bent over to write the outline Mr. Guy scribbling on the board. I felt exceedingly childish, hiding from Sasuke. But the longer I looked at him, the more my stomach was filled with pangs and twists of pain. I was just beginning to write down the notes when Ino turned to me, folding her arms over my notebook unceremoniously.

"Heya, Tenten," she said cheerfully. Her vivid blue eyes studied me closely, to the point where I no longer felt affronted but more so uncomfortable. "So, I notice you and Sasuke aren't so chummy anymore. Guess he got tired of you, huh?"

"I'm not sure that's any of your business, Ino," I replied numbly. Minimal responses. Calm. Remain calm.

"Oh, wait," Ino said, widening her eyes for emphasis. "He probably figured out that you like him, didn't he? Poor thing." She shook her head. I didn't know who she was referring to, and didn't care.

I blinked at her, stupefied. "What are you talking about? Actually, nevermind, I don't even want to know." I pulled my notebook out from beneath her arms and sat back out of her reach. Once she realized that I was clearly done with the conversation, she huffed a bit and turned back around. I suddenly regretted my change of seating.

After a few moments of trying to focus on the lectures, I gave up and let the notebook drop onto my desk. I glanced over at Neji; if he had heard Ino's and my exchange, he didn't give any sign. He didn't look at me at all for the remainder of the class period, and only when we were dismissed did he hand me his notebook, neatly labelled _Calculus._

"Oh, thanks!" I stuffed it into my bag and walked out beside him into the bustling hall. "Well, I've gotta meet Shikamaru. See you Monday!"

"See you." He grabbed the strap of his bag and disappeared into the crowd.

Shikamaru was already waiting for me by the time I reached my locker. "So I've got a condition for you," he said as a greeting, moving aside to allow me to spin my combination.

"Wonderful." I yanked it open. "And what might that be?"

"We're hanging out at Kiba's. You come along, and I promise to keep this between us." He folded his arms expectantly.

I sighed. "Shika, he's already angry enough when I come home late from anything." I shouldered my bag and turned to face him. "It's how he picks his fights with me. And why this condition, of all things?"

"Because you need to stop moping over Sasuke and have some fun," he replied. "We're not happy about this whole thing either, you know."

"Right, sure," I mumbled. "But I really don't think it's a good idea."

He only looked at me, never budging. I chewed on my lower lip, trying to consider every possible alternative. Now that Kohaku was gone, I didn't have to worry about my dad discovering him. A mixed blessing of sorts, I supposed. But he would surely be angry at me for arriving home late. Who else was going to cook his food?

I reached up to rub my face, and winced when my fingers came into contact with my bruised cheek. Something broke within me, then, and I clenched my jaw and looked at Shikamaru. No matter what I did, my father would find some excuse to give me a beating, and that was just the way it was.

"Okay, I'll come."

**A/N: Hey, everyone! I know this is dragging a bit, but I don't like to rush these things! I'm enjoying this as much as you guys, after all. **

**NOW, to see if you guys actually read these comments, I've got a question for you. I've been considering writing a chapter from another character's point of view, and I've settled for three options if you guys are for it: Sasuke, Neji, or other. Vote in my poll! It's on my profile. Thanks, and keep reading! School just picked back up for me, but I'll try to keep the chapters coming! ~Rachel**


	4. Chapter 4

"That's so not fair, you totally cheated!"

"You're just a sore loser, Naruto. I can't help the fact that you suck."

"I call bullshit. Do-over!"

"Give it up, Naruto," Kiba snickered.

Scowling, Naruto flung his cards down and folded his arms with a huff. Shikamaru reshuffled the deck, tapping his heel rhythmically against the floor with the faintest hint of a self-satisfied smile.

"It was actually Naruto that cheated," Neji said to me quietly.

I raised my eyebrows. "Really? How did you tell?"

"Remember when he dropped his phone on the floor?" When I nodded, he continued, "When he leaned over to grab it, he palmed one of the cards and hid it behind his phone when he put it back in his pocket."

"Wow. I didn't even notice."

He shrugged offhandedly. "To one only casually watching, it would seem like nothing ever happened. He was rather covert about it."

"Naruto, covert?" I snorted, shaking my head. Neji only quirked his lips in that infuriating not-smile of his. We sat in silence, watching the game, and this time I actually paid attention to each of their movements.

"I win again," Shikamaru said, lazily setting his cards on the table.

"What!" Naruto exclaimed. His blue eyes widened as he stared at the cards; finally he groaned and laid his head on the table with a loud thunk that made me wince.

"He tried again," Neji murmured, shaking his head.

"Seriously, how the hell?" I stared at him incredulously. "I was watching that time, and I didn't see anything."

Neji simply shrugged again. Frustrated, I folded my arms and sat back against the couch.

"Guys, I wanna play a game," Kiba grinned after a few moments of listening to Naruto and Shikamaru bicker over their last match. They shut up instantly and turned to Kiba expectantly. "I know where my dad keeps his booze, so I was thinking we could play 'Never Have I Ever.'"

"Interesting," Shikamaru mused, rubbing his face.

"Um.." Hinata squirmed a bit. "Could we play with juice or something instead?" Silently I thanked her.

"Aww, come on, Hina! Lighten up a bit, it's just for fun."

"How about this," Shikamaru said. "Those who want juice can drink juice, and those who want booze can drink booze. All right?"

Kiba shrugged his consent and went off to retrieve the drinks, Choji trailing behind.

"I've never played this," Neji said in a low voice, flicking his pale eyes to me.

"Oh, it's simple," I said. "Someone says something that they've never done, and if you yourself have done it, you take a drink."

He raised one eyebrow. "Is that all?" When I nodded, he let out a soft scoff. "Seems a little ridiculous."

I grinned at him and nudged his side. "That's what makes it fun!"

Kiba and Choji returned with the drinks and a precarious stack of shot glasses. Neji let out a long sigh through his nose and looked more than a little reluctant as we arranged ourselves in a lopsided circle on the floor.

"All right, I'll go first." Kiba pondered for a little while, tapping his cheek. Then he straightened up a bit. "Never have I ever gotten a perfect score on a test."

Shikamaru, Neji, Hinata and I took a drink; Shikamaru opted for a shot of whiskey while Neji, Hinata and I downed some apple juice. A few seconds passed; finally Shikamaru spoke up.

"Never have I ever dated someone for longer than 6 months."

Naruto poured himself a shot of sake and drank along with Hinata. They smiled at each other; Kiba made a gagging noise and mimed puking onto the floor.

"I'll go," Hinata volunteered. She tapped her pale, slender fingers against her shot glass. "Never have I ever...failed a test."

Begrudgingly, Naruto and Choji downed a drink.

"Never have I ever skipped a meal," Choji said. Everyone took a shot, and Choji stared at us with blatant horror.

"Never have I ever kissed someone," I said after a moment of thought. To my relief, Choji, Kiba, and Neji all drank.

"Seriously, Choji?" Shikamaru looked over at him with raised brows. "You and Karui still not there yet?"

Choji flushed red. "Shut up, man!"

Naruto swished the liquid around in his glass. "Never have I ever smoked."

Shikamaru was the only one who drank. "What?" he asked, shrugging. "They're just cigarettes. And I only smoked pot once."

"That doesn't even surprise me," I said.

"How was it?" Kiba asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"There's a reason I only did it once," was all Shikamaru said in response.

"Fair enough."

"You're up, Neji," I said to him. His pale eyes looked to me for a brief moment, then moved away, staring into the depths of his shot glass dangling between two long fingers.

"Never have I ever..." He paused, brow furrowing. "Never have I ever tried alcohol."

"We can change that," Shikamaru said as he, Kiba, and Naruto downed their shots.

Neji only shook his head. "No, thank you."

We went through two more rounds, and eventually Kiba, Shikamaru, and Naruto gave up on the alchohol and joined the rest of us with shots of juice. Kiba looked more than a little out of it as he stumbled through his turn.

"Never have I ever had sex."

All eyes immediately went to Naruto and Hinata. "I'd consider this one carefully, if I were you," Shikamaru said with a sly smile. I cast a sideways glance at Neji. His face was carefully composed and blank as ever, but his ghostly eyes were narrowed ever so slightly. This one had the potential to get ugly, and Naruto knew it. He and Hinata, the latter blushing furiously, exchanged a look. Neither reached for their glass.

"Oh, you are totally lying," Kiba scoffed.

The poor girl looked ready to faint. As the only other female in the room, I felt for her. To be put on the spot like this was already embarrassing, but in front of a family member? And one now living with her, to boot? I shuddered at the thought.

After a grueling silence, Hinata sat up a bit, reached for her glass, and downed the contents. Naruto blinked at her, then followed suit. The room was immediately filled with hoots and catcalls.

"Ohhh, shit!" Kiba slurred, almost knocking over his shot glass.

"Damn, Naruto." Shikamaru gave an affirmative nod, seemingly proud of his friend's accomplishment. "You got there before me."

Neji's face was carefully composed. "I'm not sure I needed to know about this."

"Sorry, Neji," Hinata said weakly. We all looked between the two cousins, wondering if this was about to get more than a little awkward. But then Neji held out his empty shot glass to Shikamaru.

"I think," he said, "I'll have that drink now."

Kiba laughed, and I silenced him with a "you're in enough trouble already" look. Shikamaru looked at Neji a moment, and once he realized that he was indeed serious, he unscrewed the cap to the bottle of whiskey and poured him a shot. Neji hesitated, surveying the liquid, before knocking it back.

"Oh, that is foul." He coughed a bit, expression clearly disgusted.

"Well, there you go, your first drink." Shikamaru replaced the cap on the bottle and set it aside. "All right, we still playing or what?"

"For the sake of me not throwing up from so much apple juice, I think that's enough for me," I said, pressing my hands to my belly with a queasy groan.

"Aww," Kiba complained. "It was just starting to get good, too."

"Kiba, shut up. You're drunk," Naruto mumbled, looking as nauseous as I felt.

"You're both drunk," I sighed.

Shikamaru didn't look so hot either. "I think I'll stay here for the night," he groaned.

Naruto laid his head on Hinata's lap. She stroked his unruly blond hair gently, whispering in his ear until he began to snore.

"Lucky bastard," Kiba muttered under his breath.

"Choji, you might wanna call Ino for a ride," said Shikamaru. His best friend nodded and took out his phone.

I blinked. Somehow I'd forgotten that he and Shikamaru were friends with her. Rarely were they ever seen together in school. I went upstairs with Choji while he waited, not wanting to leave him by himself; we talked for a few minutes, laughing about the highlights of the game, but I couldn't shake the feeling of apprehension knowing Ino was on her way. Our earlier exchange was still crystal clear in my mind. When she pulled up in her silver Focus twenty minutes later, she stepped out of the car and approached me while Choji slid into the passenger seat.

"Hey, Tenten," she said. Her blue eyes didn't meet mine at first; she rubbed her arm. "I just wanted to say sorry for earlier. I didn't mean to be such an airhead."

"Oh," I said, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice. "Don't worry about it."

"No, really," she said earnestly. "It was really uncalled for. I still remember when you stood up for me last year, when Kiba yelled at me."

Now the surprise was clear on my face. "You do? Wow. It was the thing about Sasuke, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." Now she looked embarrassed. "I was pretty dumb back then. Guess I don't have much to show for improvement."

"That's not true," I said. "Everyone has their moments, and everyone changes. You and Sakura get along a lot better now, right? I'd say that's a pretty big improvement."

She nodded, chewing her lower lip. "She told me about what's going on with you and Sasuke."

I stiffened a bit, but tried to act nonchalant. "Yeah?"

"She said she feels bad about it." Now she looked at me. "I don't think she knew how much it would hurt you. Sasuke isn't too happy either."

I nodded, and my stomach did a little flip. "But has it helped them at all?"

Ino shrugged one slender shoulder. "It's hard for me to tell. They really seem no different, except he sits with her at lunch now. But you already knew that."

"I'm all too aware," I said with a dry smile. Then I shrugged, trying to remain casual. "But hey, whatever helps them out. I'd feel worse if I became the reason for their breakup."

"I don't think I'd ever be able to do that," Ino said. "You know, stay away from someone so important to you. It sounds awful."

"Well, Sakura seems to think that there's something between us, so I guess I really can't blame her. It just kinda...sucks," I ended lamely.

Ino looked a bit uncomfortable. "Welll, the thing is, I don't think she's entirely wrong about that," she said hesitantly, working a hand through her long blond ponytail.

"If you mean what you said earlier, about me liking Sasuke, you're wrong." I narrowed my eyes slightly.

Ino waved her hands in front of her as though trying to ward off my anger. "Whoa, whoa, calm down. That's not what I meant. I think-"

"Ino!" Choji leaned out of the passenger seat, waving frantically. "My mom is starting to get worried."

"Coming!" she hollared back. "Sorry, I gotta go. Choji's mom fusses like you wouldn't believe."

Before I could even open my mouth to tell her to wait, she was halfway down the driveway to her car, ponytail waving like a banner behind her. I watched her drive away with a heavy feeling in my stomach. With a sigh I sat down on the front step and propped my chin in my hand, and I stayed there for a few minutes, the cool night air soothing against my skin.

What had Ino been about to say? If Choji had just waited a few seconds...I shook my head. There was no helping it now. Sasuke was still apart from me, and all I could do was sit and think about it, completely helpless. What had it been now, three days? Each minute felt like a year. I felt his absence almost as though it were a lost limb. I couldn't help but think that maybe Ino had been right, saying what she did earlier that day.

No, absolutely not. Sasuke was my best friend, and that was it. Done. To feel any differently was a wasp's next that I was not keen on disturbing.

The front door creaked open from behind me. "Tenten?" Neji's footsteps drew close. His shadow passed over me, obscuring the glow of the outside lamp light. I turned over my shoulder and looked up at him. His face was swathed in dark shade, but those colorless eyes stood out in stark contrast. "Are you all right?"

"What? Oh, yeah," I said, shaking myself free of my stupor. I pushed myself to my feet and brushed off the seat of my jeans. "Just thinking is all."

His long hair fell over one shoulder; he gave it a shake to push it back, and again the smell of woodsy spice wafted toward me with the cool night breeze. The familiarity of it was enough to make the knot filling my stomach almost double. "It's getting cold. You should come inside," was all he said, and vanished back into the house.

I stared after him a moment before letting out a long breath through my nose. Dimly I could hear the sound of someone in the kitchen, probably a member of Kiba's family. A stronger breeze raised the hairs on my arms, and I shivered as I rubbed them. Now my thoughts wandered to Kohaku, wondering, _hoping_ that he was alive and safe and warm.

The things I held most important to me were starting to slip away in such a short amount of time, like leaves swept up on a gust of wind. The helplessness was overwhelming, and made me so furious that it seemed to boil in my blood. Sasuke had cast me off with an ease so apparent I could have been a fly, simply buzzing around his head only to be swatted away; Kohaku was gone because of a stupid mistake that I could have easily avoided.

Just bring one of them back, I silently begged, though I had no idea if there was anything out there, some force that governed this world, that could hear me. Just bring one of them back to me.

"Since you insist on remaining outside, you might as well try to keep warm."

I jumped at the sound of Neji's voice and found myself staring at a cup of steaming liquid. The shadows prevented me from knowing what it was, but the smell that wafted toward me was answer enough. The wind ruffled his hair slightly as he held it out to me.

"I'm not sure how you feel about hot chocolate," he said, "but it was all they had."

"Oh no, that's perfectly fine." Gingerly I took the cup from him, and gave a grateful sigh as the heat seeped into my hands. "Thank you."

Again, Sasuke arrived at the forefront of my thoughts. We were each other's caretakers, whenever the other was sick. I couldn't count all the times that I'd made him hot chocolate or tea for a sore throat, or sat on his bed and nursed his fever. Back when my mother was still alive I contracted mononucleosis, and even then Sasuke insisted on being around. I could still picture my mother in mind, hear her voice as she told me, "You know, I think he likes you."

I always ignored her.

"You're welcome." He gave an almost imperceptible nod. His ghostly eyes seemed to shine in the darkness as he came to stand beside me; almost instantly I became keenly aware of how close he was, though there was at least two feet of space between us. I shook the thought away and took a careful sip of the hot chocolate.

"It's very good," I said. And very hot. The burn immediately roughened the tip of my tongue, but I didn't complain.

"I'm glad you like it." The smile he gave me seemed more genuine than his typical bland, composed expression. But it was gone very quickly, and to my surprise I felt a twinge of sadness to see it disappear. "You seem to have a lot on your mind."

I hummed low in my throat, blowing on the hot chocolate before taking another sip. "As do you."

He knew what I was referring to; I could see it in the way his eyes seemed to dim, and the way his brow furrowed as though he were fighting off some painful headache. I could see the pain he felt, because I knew it as well, with awful familiarity.

"I understand how you feel," I said. Part of me wanted to shut up, to not push my boundaries. We didn't know each other, and it was none of my business to intrude on his grief. I was never fond of being dependent on other people, of pushing my woes and troubles onto them when they were in no need of receiving them. Sasuke was the same, but in that similarity we were able to somehow overcome it together.

Neji's eyes stared directly ahead. "Do you?" he said quietly.

I watched the steam roll off from the cup in thin, grey tendrils, disappearing into the cold night air. "I lost my mother a year ago."

"I'm very sorry." He still wouldn't look at me. I took this as a sign that he was in no mood to discuss it further, and we sank into silence. After a moment I noticed his hands shaking against his sides, whether from cold or grief I did not know, and I fought back the sudden urge to reach out and touch him. I had already pushed, and though he hadn't reacted entirely in a negative manner, I was in no hurry to incite him further.

Instead I held out the hot chocolate, slightly less warm after being exposed to the chilly night. "Here. You look cold." He shook his head, but I insisted. "Come on, I promise I don't have anything contagious."

He sighed and took the cup. Silence again fell between us, and maybe it was better that way. Part of me was glad to have someone to share the cold with, quiet or not. We were two islands, alone in a sea of our own sorrows.

**A/N: Hey, everyone! I added another option to the poll; I'm leaving it open because hardly any of you have voted! Come on, give me your opinions! This story is for all of you, after all. Hope you liked this chapter, and keep reading! Your comments make my day!**


	5. Chapter 5

By the time I decided it was time to go home, it was past two in the morning. Kiba, Shikamaru, and Naruto were passed out in the basement, and the latter was snoring so loudly that I half expected the glass in the coffee table to rattle with each breath.

"Oh, Naruto," Hinata sighed, shaking her head. But her pale eyes were gentle as she pushed back his unruly blond hair and kissed his forehead. Neji and I waited near the stairs. We didn't say anything to each other, but I wouldn't call the silence that lay between us one of awkwardness; we may not have exchanged much on the front steps of Kiba's house, but it had been enough.

The silence continued for the entirety of the car ride to my house. Hinata dozed a bit in the front seat, leaning against the passenger side window. I could find no excuse to tell Neji and Hinata that they would easily believe, so I had no choice but to give him the directions to my dead-end street. The darkness was thick and heavy, save for the twinkling of a few lonely stars overhead; I inwardly hoped that it would obscure my house enough.

The car cruised to a stop. I shouldered my bag and opened the rear door. "Thank you for the ride," I said as I scooted out into the chilly night air. I couldn't help but shiver a bit as my eyes fell on my house, and with more than just cold. No lights flickered in the windows; all was eerily dark and silent.

"You're welcome," Neji said, and I shut the door. I trudged along the short pathway, up the front steps to the door, and still Neji sat in the car at the sidewalk's edge as though waiting for something. Waiting for me, I realized. He was making sure I got inside safely. At the same time this inexplicably pleased me, I wanted nothing more than for him to get out of here.

My heart pounded loudly in my ears as I leaned against the door, trying to deduce any sound coming from the living room, TV or otherwise. I took a deep, shuddering breath. It was now or never, no getting around it. Finally I pushed open the door as quietly as it would allow. I heard the soft, rolling crunch of the wheels as Neji pulled the car away from the curb, U-turned, and disappeared down the street and into the thick darkness.

A strange feeling seeped through my stomach as I watched him go. I may have put it off until then, but I was beginning to feel the weight of the loneliness. Day after day, week after week, month after month. It was the same routine, never a hiccup or surprise. Not anymore, at least. Sasuke was gone. Kohaku was gone. And I could feel myself going, too. Suffocating under the secrets and lies, putting on a show that only I could see. Little by little I could feel the facade beginning to crack.

I gritted my teeth as I closed the door behind me. It wasn't fair. None of it was. It wasn't fair for Sasuke to leave me in the way he did. It wasn't fair that my father hated me. It wasn't fair that I had to lie to my friends with the continuous hope that things would get better. It wasn't fair that my mother had died and left me with this shell of a human being I once knew as my dad.

Mother. Mom. I could still smell the faint traces of her perfume, even though my father had gotten rid of almost everything of hers. For weeks after her death I would wake in the night and feel her sitting at the edge of my bed, the soft pressure of her hand rubbing my leg atop the blankets. I would hear her voice sometimes, calling me to dinner or telling me that she loved me or asking me to help do the chores around the house. It was funny how I never realized how much those small things mattered until, one day, they were ripped out of my life in a collision of steel and flashing red lights.

But of course, feeling sorry for myself had never accomplished anything. Still, I wanted nothing more than to pack my things and run, never come back, erase every memory of this horrible place. Maybe one day. But for now, I had to focus on keeping what little threads of my life I had left woven somewhat together.

The house was silent and still. I stood there in the darkness, listening, before making my way up the stairs to my room.

It rained for the entirety of the weekend. If my father had been aware of my absence Friday night he didn't mention it; he was exceedingly disoriented, no doubt because of the alcohol. He could barely manage a few words without slurring, and finally he just trudged up to his room and slept for hours on end. For what felt like the first time in months, I had a normal, beatings-and-yellings-free weekend. I read, I cleaned, I did my schoolwork. And I was grateful to no end.

I sloshed through puddles to school Monday morning. The sky was a somber, gloomy grey, occasionally letting loose a brief bout of drizzle to voice its discontent. My bangs were plastered to my forehead by the time I made it to the school, just in time for Neji's car to pull into the lot. For a moment I stopped in an internal debate: wait for him or keep going? But the instant I saw him emerge from the car, long hair waving softly in the damp breeze, I no longer had any choice in the matter. I simply stood rooted to the spot as he approached.

Again with that maddening, small smile. "Good morning." He had faint shadows beneath his ghostly white eyes.

"Morning," I said, falling into step beside him. "You don't look so good."

He made a dismissive gesture. "I'm fine. A little tired."

It was only from experience that I was able to see he was lying. I made no comment, resolving only to nod in understanding. "Yeah. And the weather is hardly helping."

He gave me a once over that turned into a slight double-take. "Did you walk here?"

I nodded slowly, raising my eyebrows. "Yes. What's the matter?"

"You're shivering."

"It's cold."

"You'll get sick."

"Probably."

"That's hardly a pleasant notion."

"Nope, sure isn't."

He looked at me a moment with a mixture of what appeared to be amusement and irritation. "Did you copy my notes?" he asked finally.

"Oh, yeah." Still walking, I shrugged my backpack off one shoulder and rummaged around for the notebook as we entered the building. "Thanks, again."

"Of course," he said as he took it from me. Silence fell as we continued walking.

The first bell sounded; I faltered a bit, wanting to continue our not-conversation. But Neji took an opposite turn down the hall and left me alone. I heaved an inward sigh and found myself looking forward to lunch.

"Tenten, sit with me!" Ino greeted me upon my entering my first classroom. With barely contained surprise I took an empty desk beside her and dropped my bag heavily onto the floor. "How're you?"

"Um...pretty good," I said slowly. She looked impeccable as usual, though she made a habit to push the dress code as far as it would go. Her off-the-shoulder purple top dipped erratically as she leaned over toward me. Her flowery perfume filled the air around me; I tried my best not to cough at the pungent smell.

"Sakura told me she had a fight with Sasuke the other night."

I blinked once, twice. How low I had sank, to be gossiping. And with Ino Yamanaka, of all people. I shook the thought away. "Really? About what?"

Ino arched one perfectly shaped blond brow. "You, of course."

My heart dropped into my stomach. "What about me?" I asked.

"Come on, Tenten, you're a smart girl," Ino said with a wave of her hand. Her aqua-colored nails gleamed in the light. "Sakura is nearly positive that Sasuke has feelings for you, and she thinks he's lying about it."

"Well then, she'll just have to get over it, because that's not the case," I said numbly. "Sasuke took a step back from me to try to _fix_ things with her, didn't he? Because she was jealous that we were so close?"

Ino drummed her fingers against the desk. "The thing is, I agree with her. I think Sasuke does have feelings for you, and he did this not only to please Sakura, but to keep those feelings a secret from the both of you. It's because of the fact that you guys are so close, and that despite that closeness he could remove himself from the friendship, that would ultimately prove to Sakura that he doesn't like you." She sounded so casual, like this entire hypothesis was nothing more than a casual statement about the weather. "Simple, really."

She had to be kidding. I pressed a hand to my forehead. "This is absolutely nuts."

"Hey, I remember back to when I'd be fucking ecstatic if Sasuke had a thing for me," Ino said with a toss of her long hair. "It's a good thing I got over that a long time ago." She looked at me, at my apparent misery, and her face softened. Her teal eyes were gentle as she said, "Hey, I know what you must be thinking."

"Do you?" I shook my head. I was in no mood for the sudden appearance of Ino the Shrink.

"Yes. That you've screwed up their whole relationship." All right, maybe she did know. "But that's not true at all. You did nothing wrong here. No one did, really. People can't-well, mostly-control how they feel about others. If I'm right and Sasuke does like you, imagine how this must be making him feel."

"If he isn't happy with Sakura," I said, closing my eyes for a moment, "then he needs to break things off with her. It's not fair to either of them."

Ino paused, glancing toward the front of the classroom where Mr. Sarutobi was writing on the board. She lowered her voice. "I'm going to tell you something you probably don't know about me." She pushed her long bangs back from her face. "Do you remember when Shikamaru was dating Temari?"

I nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Keep in mind, he and I are really close, too," she said. "You wanna know why they broke up?"

It didn't take me long to figure it out. "You're kidding."

"I was a bitch to you last week," she said. "But then Sakura told me what happened, and I realized how sucky it must be for you, because I've been there." Then she shrugged. "But, one way or another, it works itself out." I nodded silently, processing this. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," I said, surprised.

"Do you think," she said, running her fingers along a strand of her hair, "that it's possible to love two people at once?"

The question shocked me into silence for a long moment. Finally I asked, "Do you?"

She nodded wordlessly. And truth be told it was all I could think about for the next class period, and as I sat down at the lunch table, surrounded by the cacophony of chatter, I felt horribly isolated.

"Tenten, helloooo?" Naruto waved a hand back and forth from across the table. "You in there?"

"What?" I blinked, trying to shake the thoughts away. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. I'm a little out of it today."

"Obviously." Shikamaru pushed his food around with apparent disinterest. But despite the devil-may-care attitude, I could feel the weight of his stare, silent and questioning. I gave a little shake of my head and that seeed to satisfy him for the moment.

"Where's Neji?" Choji asked suddenly, and only then did I become aware of his absence. All eyes scanned the room for him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Beside me, Hinata folded her hands in her lap. "He's...with a school counselor."

"Wait, what?" Kiba blinked. "Why?"

"Think about it, you nimrod," Shikamaru sighed.

Kiba rubbed the back of his head with an uncomfortable expression. "Oh, right. Sorry."

We were all quiet for a few agonizing seconds. I thought back to that morning, just hours before. Neji had looked so exhausted, like he was barely holding it together. I knew it, because I felt it. And he shouldn't have to feel it alone.

"I'll go wait for him," I said finally.

Hinata looked at me, surprise clear in her pale eyes that so resembled her cousin's. "He may be awhile."

"That's okay." With everyone staring at me with varying degrees of confusion, I picked up my bag and made my way out of the cafeteria. I took a seat on the bench across from the main office; through the pane of glass I spied Ms. Shizune at the front desk, typing away at her computer. To the left was the door to the counselors' offices.

Minutes ticked by. The dismissal bell rang, then the warning bell, then the third period bell. I considered leaving and going to class. It was none of my business, being here, and I doubted Neji would be thrilled to have me know where he'd been. But before I could ponder it any more, the door opened and Neji stepped out. In his hand was a small square of blue paper.

His eyes alighted on me almost instantly. "Tenten," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh..." Suddenly I realized how stupid this whole situation looked. If Neji didn't think I was strange before, he surely thought so now. "Hinata-"

"-told you, I presume," he said, and the chilliness to his voice caught me off guard. The shadows beneath his white eyes looked even sharper in contrast. When I opened my mouth, to say what I didn't know, he silenced me with a shake of his head. "Please. Don't."

"Neji," I said, standing up. "Believe me when I say that I don't feel sorry for you. I had to do this when my mother died last year, and I know how degrading it feels. It goes without saying that it didn't help me very much."

"Why are you here?" he asked quietly. He stood very still, barely even blinking.

"We don't know each other very well, I know that. And it's none of my business to pry into your life." I held up my hands, palms facing out. "All I'm asking is that you consider me as an alternative to a shrink. Because I do understand how you feel, and I think we can be friends."

"You make it seem as though you can cure all of my problems," he said dryly.

I scoffed. "I can't even cure my own." A little too much to share, but I shook it off. There was no taking it back. He simply looked at me for a brief instant.

"You're very up front," he said finally, expression bland as ever. I didn't know if that was meant to insult or not.

"I'm not trying to proposition you or anything, not at all," I said hurriedly.

His eyebrows raised. "I never said you were."

Stop talking, you moron. Just shut up, apologize or something, just get out of here. For a moment we stood there, staring at each other, and my face felt as though it was burning with the energy of a miniature sun.

"I'm sorry," I said finally, straightening a bit. This seemed to catch him off guard: his eyes widened ever so slightly.

"For?"

"Sticking my nose in where I shouldn't."

My eyes may have been deceiving me, but the hard, stern lines of Neji's face seemed to relax a bit. "If people 'stuck their noses in' more, I don't think we'd have such a profound need for therapists."

My mind wandered back to my earlier conversation with Ino. She had put herself out there, reassured me, confided in me even though we were as intimate as strangers. Yet we had found an inexplicable common ground. Standing in front of Neji on another such ground, I knew there had to be some hope of us becoming friends.

"Maybe," was all I said.

He looked down at the blue paper in his hand. "We should get to class."

I nodded, and together we walked silently down the hall to the classroom. I fumbled for excuses as to why I was late; Ms. Yuhi was not one to accept most without some form of evidence to back them up. But before I could open my mouth, Neji held up the blue note.

"We were in the main office," he said calmly.

Ms. Yuhi nodded without perusing the slip of paper. Neji crumpled it up and tossed it into the trash as he walked to his desk. I again made the decision to sit behind him; this time he didn't say anything on the matter.

"Thanks," I whispered to his back.

"You're welcome," came the soft reply, and he turned just enough to glance at me over his shoulder. "Can you try to pay attention this time?"

"I'll do my best." I folded my arms with a small huff. "But I like your notes better."

He only shook his head and resumed facing the front of the room. Ever the diligent student. But I did as he said and wrote down nearly everything I could. I found that, with the help of Neji's notes, I grasped the concepts with much less trouble, and I told him so after class.

"Is that so?" He looked only mildly interested as we walked to fourth period.

"It is so," I replied, mimicking his bland tone. He narrowed his eyes at me but said nothing. "Maybe you could let me see your notes again? Or tutor me?"

"Another proposition?" he asked, and I realized with some degree of surprise that he was joking. He resumed his serious demeanor almost instantly. "I wouldn't say I'm that great of a teacher."

"I'd really appreciate it if you tried," I said innocently.

"I'm sure you would."

"I'm serious!"

"I never said you weren't."

"So you'll do it?"

"i never said that either."

"Neji! Please?"

"I'll consider it."

"Fine."

"Fine."

I narrowed my eyes, but I couldn't dismiss the feeling of warmth in my stomach as we walked the rest of the way in silence.

**A/N: Hey again, everyone! Sorry for the delay; school is picking up again! Hope you liked this chapter, and stay tuned for a surprise! Thanks for all the support! **


	6. Chapter 6

"Something on your mind, little brother?"

I rolled over onto my side without a glance toward the doorway. "Not now, Itachi."

He hummed low in his throat. "Well," he said, "maybe this will help."

I closed my eyes, and I felt the edge of my bed depress as Itachi sat down. With a sigh I finally sat up. It took me a few moments to absorb the fact that a black cat was curled up in my older brother's lap.

"Another one?"

"I found him outside," Itachi said. He ran long fingers down the cat's back, and it began to purr appreciatively, slowly blinking its large blue eyes. "He doesn't have any tags, but he looks well-fed."

"So he belongs to someone?" With some degree of hesitation, I extended my hand to stroke the cat's head. He butted my palm, still purring.

Itachi shrugged slightly. "One can only assume. Strays aren't normally this friendly."

"You would know," I remarked dryly. Ever since we were kids, Itachi had always been partial to cats. He'd let me tag along to a pet store run by a woman so old it was a wonder what held her together; she dressed in a getup of a cat nose and ears to match. That began Itachi's streak of bringing home numerous strays he would find around the area. Dad hated it-then again, he hated most things-but Mom didn't seem to mind. "Itachi the Cat Whisperer," she would jokingly call him. But she never let him keep any of them for long.

Itachi scratched the cat behind his ears in silence for a few moments. "If you want to talk, let me know," he said finally. He stood and set the animal down on the bed, where he proceeded to curl up and close his eyes. Itachi's lips turned up slightly at the corners; he poked my forehead with his index and middle fingers, then ruffled my hair and left the room.

As I flattened my mused hair, I couldn't help but watch the cat. He seemed aware of my gaze, and raised his head to peer at me, barely blinking. His tail slowly lashed back and forth across my bed. I held out my hand so that the tips of my fingers hovered inches from his nose; he leaned forward and briefly sniffed them, then resumed purring.

"Looks like he likes you," came Itachi's voice from the doorway. "Mom told me to let you know that Sakura's here."

I closed my eyes for a brief moment. "Of course she is."

Itachi raised one eyebrow. "I can tell her that you're busy, if you'd like."

Tempting. So very tempting. But that wasn't going to fix anything. "No," I muttered, running my fingers lightly over the cat's silky ears, and sighed. "I'll handle it."

"All right." Itachi stood there for another few seconds, hands in the pockets of his sweatpants, face as calm and composed as ever. Then he let out a breath through his nose and disappeared down the hall, only to be replaced by Sakura. Immediately my stomach dropped.

"Hey, Sasuke." The sound of the dejection in her voice made me wince internally. Her jade eyes were downcast; she wouldn't look at me, staring intently at her pale hands laced in front of her. "I thought talking would be better in person this time."

I didn't say anything. Instead I gestured for her to take a seat beside me, though I was hardly surprised when she opted for the desk chair. Her eyes wandered to the picture frame propped up on my desk: Tenten clinging to my back as she commanded me to give her a piggy-back ride, me scowling unpleasantly at the camera. Sakura's face betrayed nothing, and for awhile neither of us said a word. The silence was thick and heavy.

"Where'd the cat come from?" she asked finally.

I glanced over at the sleeping creature. "Itachi found him outside. You know how he is."

Sakura giggled softly, and my stomach shifted in a way that I could only describe as uncomfortable. The noise was suddenly grating on my ears, and I could tell she was simply trying to lighten the mood before she delivered what she really came here for.

I was right. "I think," she began after a deep breath, "and I know you don't want to hear this again, but-"

"Then don't say it," I interrupted her sharply.

"Sasuke." Her eyes now lifted to my face. "Please. Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

A numb feeling began to work its way through my insides. "Not this again. How many times do I-"

"Please_, listen,_" she sighed. She rested her hands on her thighs, picking at the nails erratically. She had a habit of doing that when she was nervous or upset. "I'm not an idiot, Sasuke. We both know this has been going on long enough."

"And I keep telling you that nothing is wrong." I closed my eyes, trying desperately to harness the rage of emotions building up in my chest. I worked my jaw. "Nothing is going on with Tenten. _Nothing_." It was almost the truth. But it wasn't enough for her.

Sakura smiled, but there was no happiness in the gesture. "I don't want any lies between us. You've been distant ever since you talked with Tenten. Don't think I haven't noticed, Sasuke-I know you better than you think I do. I just want the truth."

I leaned my forehead against my clenched fist and willed myself to remain calm. She wanted me to tell the truth. Even if it meant reaching inside, taking her heart in my hands, and crushing it like a wounded animal. It had been so easy, back when we were younger, to hurt her. Her continued advances; my fervent, ceaseless refusals. It hardly mattered to me in those days. A twelve-year-old kid, a boy no less, hardly had the time to care about dates, or dances, or handmade Valentines and long love letters. I was more concerned about school, trying to be better than Itachi, spending time with Tenten. Yet somewhere along the way, I'd grown dependent on Sakura, her love. No matter what I said, no matter what I did, it would always be there. She would keep waiting, a constant force in the background for me to fall back on.

Yes, it had been so easy to hurt her back then, literal child's play. Now it was the one thing I hated to do most, yet was unable to stop, and I suddenly wondered if her love would be there this time.

Because I was in love with my best friend, and she knew it.

"Fine," I found myself saying, and my voice sounded far away. Every time I tried to formulate a response, I mentally choked on the words; they sounded weak, unsavory. Was there really any way to deliver something like this without inflicting pain? She sat there, waiting, and her jade eyes remained trained on my face with intent focus. I let my gaze wander over her; her smooth fair skin, slim wrists and small hands, pale pink nails that matched her hair.

She was beautiful, and I could hardly stand the sight of her.

"You're right," I finally forced out through numb lips, but to my relief my voice didn't falter. Sakura's eyes closed, and when they reopened they shimmered with a film of glossy tears. Each word seemed to pummel her like a physical blow. "You're right. But I made the choice I did for _you_, to fix this."

"I know you did," Sakura said, and she sounded remarkably calm. "But the entire point is that you never should've felt the need to. It was my fault for being so jealous, and for drawing this out." She looked down at her hands, then back at me. "And I understand why you lied."

Of course she did. Frustration simmered beneath my skin. Sakura was always too understanding for her own good when it came to me. She never got angry when I lied, never yelled or shouted. I was at fault here; we both knew it. But she refused to take up arms against me. I wanted her to scream, to throw something at me, to beat me with her fists. I would have welcomed it. This, this tearful, soft-spoken understanding and amicability, was somehow so much worse than all of those. It was enough to make me sick.

But she was smart. No girl would want to stay with someone if they considered themselves second best. "Do you deny it now?" she asked.

"No."

"You love Tenten?"

The word seemed almost ripped from my mouth. But she wanted honesty, and I would damn well deliver it. "Yes."

"And you don't love me." It was more a statement than a question, yet I couldn't bring myself to summon any sort of response. I couldn't say that I loved her; she knew that, and was well aware of it. Not once had I echoed those words to her. I simply looked at her. That seemed to be answer enough.

"I thought as much," she said quietly. She got to her feet, blinking rapidly.

"So, that's it, then?" I looked at her, at the shimmering trails on her cheeks. "We're done?"

"What else would you have me do?" She threw up her hands; now she was becoming frustrated. "I told you before, Sasuke. I'm not going to compete with Tenten. I shouldn't have to." She took a breath and let it out in a short huff, and was noticeably calmer as she continued, "'Please. I think it's best that we break up."

I had been expecting it, but I still felt the harsh impact of the words as they settled in. "We can work through this." I felt as though I were saying so out of obligation. The words felt meaningless, empty.

She shook her head and wiped at her cheeks. "I don't think so, Sasuke. This is what's best, for right now."

She was right, of course. I had no idea what to say as she walked to the door. "Sorry"? That wouldn't cut it by a mile. I only sat there, motionless-with shock or something else, I had no idea-and watched her walk out without so much as a backward glance, her back straight and strides even.

It was over. Done. Part of me felt completely detached, floating in a haze. The other was inexplicably relieved, as though a great weight had been removed from my body. I had never completely understood the feeling one experienced upon being newly single, untethered from the bonds of a relationship that I hadn't realized had become so unwanted. Sakura had nothing to do with it. She was kind, gentle, passionate; she deserved someone worthy of that kindness, that gentle yet fiercely burning love.

The kind of love that I felt for Tenten.

_Tenten._

I didn't even realize I was on my feet until I was at the door with Itachi blocking my way. He simply looked at me with his black eyes, identical to my own. "What are you doing?" I demanded.

He cocked an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same thing." Before I could open my mouth with some smart retort, he said, "I know you, Sasuke. And I know what you're thinking. It's not a good idea."

"Getting my best friend back isn't a good idea?" I scoffed, striding to my closet to grab a jacket.

"Sasuke," he sighed. "Listen to me. Sakura's barely left, and you're running off to Tenten. What kind of respect does that show for her?"

I didn't reply. I stood there in front of the closet, rain jacket gripped tightly in my hands. With a surge of fury I whirled around and threw it across the room; it fell in a fluttering heap near my desk, startling the cat. He blinked reproachfully before settling back down to sleep.

"So you heard," I said in a clipped tone. "Good to know you're eavesdropping on my conversations."

Itachi merely held up his hands. "You didn't close the door. My room is right there. Your fault, little brother." He went to sit on my bed, near the cat, and gestured to the space beside him. Begrudgingly I obeyed. "Sasuke, listen. I don't think it's a good idea to tell Tenten how you feel. Not yet."

"Because of Sakura," I said with a heavy feeling in my stomach.

He nodded. "Yes. You are very lucky-very few girls would have been so understanding of your feelings for Tenten. Don't inflict any more pain on her by slapping her in the face with it."

"So, what, I can't be friends with Tenten anymore?"

"I'm saying," Itachi said slowly, "give it time." When I only sat there in stony silence, he sighed. "You realize that telling her how you feel could damage the relationship you have already."

"I know."

"And you're willing to take that risk?"

I sat there, and I realized that I didn't know. Her rejection could mean the end of everything. But the thought of her reciprocation plagued me, enticing as a mirage. "What would you do?" I asked.

Itachi was quiet for a long moment. "I can't decide this for you, Sasuke. Despite all I've said, I wouldn't stop you from running out of here right now. Because that would be your choice." He looked at me. "This needs to be _your _choice."

I passed a hand through my hair and sighed softly. He was right, as always. "I'm afraid to make the wrong one. Look where my decision-making skills have gotten me."

"Everyone is scared of making decisions, Sasuke." Itachi scooped the cat into his arms; he curled up into a purring ball on his lap, blinking slowly. "But you still have to make one. You won't ever know unless you try." He ran his fingers lightly over the cat's ears and began scratching the underside of his chin. Then he looked back at me and made a noise in his throat that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

I raised an eyebrow. "Something funny?"

"For the first time in quite a long while," Itachi said, "you seem to be unsure of yourself. It's surprising."

I sat motionlessly beside him, staring into space. Images of Sakura's face flashed through my mind, followed by Tenten's, then Sakura's, then Tenten's again. Over and over and over, until I thought my head was going to split open with the pressure. Finally I stood up and went to pick up my jacket, still lying in a heap on the floor. _Stay or go? _it seemed to ask.

_You seem to be unsure of yourself. It's surprising._ Well, he wasn't the only one who was surprised.

"Dammit." I draped the jacket over the back of my desk chair and rubbed my forehead. Feelings for Tenten aside, there was no denying that Sakura had made me happy. Her presence was something I had grown used to. But in trying to fix things between us, I ultimately ended them. Pushing Tenten away had resulted in me doing the same to Sakura.

I couldn't help it. I was in love with Tenten, and I couldn't help it. I'd sacrificed one girl's love for the mere hope of another. A foolish kid, ruled by his emotions rather than logic.

"No matter what you decide to do from here on out, I'll support you," Itachi said from behind me. "It's not a crime to be in love. Nor is it a crime to tell someone the truth, even when it may hurt them."

I turned to face him. "You seem to know an awful lot about these things."

He only smiled. "Let's just say I've picked up a few things over the years," he said.

After he left, I sat on my bed with the cat, watching him sleep. I almost didn't register the sound of my phone buzzing atop my desk and sprang up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"I just got off the phone with Sakura. Finally did it, huh?"

"Ino," I said, patience straining. "I'm hardly in the mood."

"Don't get your panties in a wad, Sasuke. Sheesh. I'm calling to say good job."

I blinked. "Good job? Why the hell-"

"Because now you can stop moping around like a kid who's lost his puppy and tell Tenten how you feel. Which I was totally right about, by the way."

I pinched the bridge of my nose between thumb and forefinger. Sakura had been keeping Ino well-informed throughout this entire ordeal, no surprise. "Ino, this is really none of your business."

"Oh, you'd be surprised, lover boy," Ino replied. "I recommend you tell her sooner rather than later, because it looks like you've got some competition."

My stomach dropped uncomfortably. "What do you mean, competition?"

"Does the name Neji Hyuga ring any bells?"

I opened my mouth to respond when I suddenly put a face to the name. And put that face next to Tenten's. "What about him?" I managed to say between my teeth.

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but they've been spending quite a bit of time together," Ino said casually, as though discussing the weather.

My stomach clenched. "Why are you telling me this?" I asked. Shouldn't she be tearing into me for what happened with Sakura? Didn't girls normally do that? I shook the thoughts away-not important.

"Because she misses you, idiot. She and I have been talking a lot, and more often than not the topic of conversation is you."

"Oh." I leaned back against the desk, switching the phone to my other ear. Ino was baiting me and I knew it. However, I wasn't going to bite. "What do you suggest I do, apologize?"

"Oh, goodness, no," Ino replied, sarcasm practically dripping from the words. "Apologize? No way!"

"Not in the mood, Ino," I repeated in dangerous tones.

"All right, all right. Yes, apologize. Beg. Grovel. Whatever, I don't care. All I'm saying is that if you want to be with her-and I reiterate-I'd tell her sooner rather than later." Her voice became faint as she yelled something unintelligible before returning to normal volume. "Dinner time, gotta go. See you Monday!"

"Wait, Ino-" _Beepbeepbeep. _I tossed the phone onto my bed in frustration. The cat meowed, startled. "Sorry," I muttered. I sat down beside him and ran my hands through my hair.

..._if you want to be with her, I suggest you tell her sooner..._

_...give it time..._

_...it looks like you've got some competition..._

_This needs to be _your _choice..._

Itachi's voice merged with Ino's, and together they swirled like a tornado in my head. Two people, two sets of advice. Perfect.

_Does the name Neji Hyuga ring any bells?_

Neji Hyuga. How many times had I seen him with Tenten? Sitting with her in class, at lunch, walking in the halls, talking in the front lot? Now it seemed so painfully obvious.

What do I care? It's what I deserve, casting her off the way I did. Obviously the universe was trying to tell me something. In all the years that Tenten and I had been friends, she had never once voiced anything regarding boys. As far as she and I were concerned, she was just "one of the guys" as Kiba put it. And that was that.

Could all of that change so quickly? I couldn't bring myself to answer.

**A/N: There you go, everyone! I'm really not sure where I wanted to go with this, so I'm sorry if it seems a little haphazard! Hope you enjoyed! Reviews much appreciated!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Just giving you a heads-up: it's project day in Guy's class," Kiba said as I sat down to lunch.

"You're kidding," I sighed.

He shook his head. "I wish. But you get a partner, so it's not that bad."

"'Not that bad', he says," Shikamaru quipped. "You know as well as I do that I'm going to be doing this entire project."

"Well, duh!" Kiba grinned wolfishly, to which Shikamaru sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead.

"Kiba, be nice," said Hinata. She turned her pale eyes to Naruto. "You _will _be helping me, right?"

"Uh..." Naruto swallowed a mouthful of noodles and seemed to shrink back a bit. "Is that a trick question?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Idiot."

While they talked, my eyes scanned the lunchroom for Sasuke. The table that he sat at with Sakura was occupied by other students; eventually I spied the latter's pink hair, seated with Ino and Sai. I sighed to myself and turned back to the table just as Neji leaned over toward me.

"First lesson after school," he said without looking at me.

It took me a moment to realize what he meant. Then I grinned. "Really?"

He tilted his head and cast me a sidelong glance. "That is, unless you've changed your mind?"

"Oh, no," I said hurriedly, shaking my head. "Not a bit."

He nodded once, and that was all he said for the duration of lunch. Repeatedly I caught myself stealing glances at him, wracking my brains for something to say; by the time fourth period rolled around, he still hadn't said more than a few words to me.

"Neji," I said softly, leaning over a bit in my desk. "Are you okay?"

Again, he barely spared me a second's worth of a glance. "Fine," he replied evenly as he scribbled something down in his notebook. I let out a short sigh through my nose and tried turned my attention back to the front of the room with little success: my eyes repeatedly were drawn to Sasuke's empty desk a few rows up.

"All right, my young pupils!" Mr. Guy clapped his hands together loudly, making a few people jump. "Now it's time to discuss the parameters for your project."

Ino turned sideways in her desk to look at me and propped her chin in her hand. "Great," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Just what I needed."

"With a partner-" Immediately the room was filled with chatter, and exchanged glances were flung in all directions. Ino mimed something, and I followed her gaze to where Sai sat a few desks up. He made a gesture that could only be interpreted as "whatever" and nodded.

"Ugh, he's so cute." Ino fluttered her lashes dramatically. "Don't you think?"

"Um..." I could only shrug in response as I cast a glance at Neji, seated motionlessly beside me.

"I'll assign each group a topic tomorrow," Mr. Guy was saying. "And it's your job to put together a presentation that you will present to the class." Scattered groans. "Some questions on your final exam will be on the information presented, so pay close attention!" He flashed a blindingly white smile.

"Why Lee fanboys over this guy, I'll never know," Ino said with a shake of her head. She turned around as Mr. Guy continued on with his lecture.

With an odd feeling of nervousness I looked once again at Neji. He had made no attempt to join the search in picking a partner and instead sat as straight as a rod in his chair, muscles flexing in his forearm as he took notes; I realized I was openly staring and gave myself a mental shake.

"Neji," I whispered. "You want to be partners on this?"

He continued writing and nodded once in response, never taking his ghostly eyes off his paper, and I bent over my own notebook, wondering why that made me so inexplicably happy.

* * *

><p>I threw the pencil down onto the desk. "That's it, I'm done. Can't do it."<p>

Neji, for what seemed like the one hundredth time that afternoon, picked up the discarded object and held it out to me. "Yes, you can," he said patiently.

"I really can't." I rubbed my forehead, winced at the pounding in my skull. "If I so much as see the words 'power series' again I might have a stroke."

"You almost had it." Neji surveyed the sheet of notebook paper, riddled with scribbles and scratch-outs. "Come on, Tenten. It's a very simple mistake. Look very carefully."

With a sigh I took the pencil from him and dutifully leaned forward. I looked at the problem, retracing my steps that spanned almost the entire page. How Neji seemed to so effortlessly keep all of the information straight was beyond me.

"I don't see it." I thumped my head onto the table and groaned. "Just kill me now."

"Keep trying," was his level response. I didn't raise my head. I was being difficult and I knew it; no doubt Neji was reconsidering his acceptance of the job. "Tenten. Try again."

"All right, all right." I sat back up and rubbed my eyes, then examined the paper once more. I blinked once, twice. Could it really be that simple? I covered my eyes with a hand. "I am a disgrace," I said, shaking my head. "I'm not worthy of your presence."

"Tell me what you did wrong," Neji said with a faint hint at what might have been a smile. At once I was reminded of my mother, and the way that she would scold me whenever I got into trouble as a child. "Tell me what you did wrong," she always said. The way that she would look at me never failed to get an honest answer; it was ultimately the fear that, if I lied or hid something from her, she'd be disappointed in me. And to me, that was worse than any punishment on the earth.

I felt that same fear again as I removed my hand and looked at Neji. "The interval of convergence is negative one-half," I said.

He nodded. "Remember: just because it says 'interval' does not necessarily mean it has to be two points." Then his lips curved up slightly at the corners. "Good job."

I corrected the answer and sat back with a sigh. "That was way too complicated," I said, trying to dismiss the warmth seeping into my face. With each passing second I grew more keenly aware of the fact that Neji was there, seated mere inches from me, his arm resting atop the table dangerously close to my own. I found myself gripping the pencil tightly and forced myself to let it drop.

"You overthink it too much," Neji said. He started to pack away his things. Watching him, I felt a small twinge of what I realized to be disappointment and shook it away.

"Neji," I said before I could think to stop myself. "Are you sure you're all right?"

He paused, and I saw his knuckles tighten around the notebook he was shoving into his bag, shining white through the skin. "I already told you," he said without looking at me. "I'm fine."

I sighed softly and propped my chin up with my hand. "Okay," was all I could think to say. "Just wondering. You seem a little..." I couldn't find a word.

"I assure you, I'm quite well." He stood up abruptly and shouldered his bag. "See you tomorrow." And I watched him leave the library with a sinking feeling that immediately turned to one of confused joy as Sasuke walked through the sliding doors. He barely brushed Neji's shoulder as he passed. I simply sat at the table, too stunned to speak or move as his black eyes landed on me, and the furrow that had been creasing his brow disappeared. The surprise only deepened when I realized that he was heading right for me.

At last he stopped at the table, rested a hand on the back of the chair Neji had previously occupied beside me. "Hey," he said quietly.

"Hey," I breathed, looking up at him. He dropped his bag to the floor with a heavy _thunk_ and sat down. "What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you, too," he remarked dryly.

Looking at him, a myriad of emotions swirled inside my stomach. Anger, hurt, confusion, joy. Happiness. And before I realized what I was doing, I flung my arms around him and buried my head against the side of his neck.

"You're an asshole," I said, words slightly muffled against the fabric of his jacket. The familiar scent of him filled my nose, and I felt as though I could breathe it in for ages.

"So I've been told." I felt his cheek press against my head as he leaned into me. The gesture summoned the dreaded sting of tears to my eyes as the all-consuming happiness faded to be replaced by anger; I moved away and began pummeling him with my fists.

"You-are-an-asshole!" I hissed. I hit every area I could reach: shoulders, arms, chest, thighs. He made no move to stop me for a few seconds, then caught both my wrists effortlessly, one in each hand. It wasn't tight enough to be painful, but not relaxed enough to garner release. I glared at him in silence.

"I know," he said. He leveled his eyes with mine with intense focus. "And I'm sorry."

Don't cry. Don't cry. I didn't dare blink as the tears threatened to spill over, blurring my vision. He let one of my hands drop and tugged gently on the other as he stood up; I almost forgot to grab my bag as I followed him out of the library and into the chilly fall air. My eyes dried almost instantly as the cold wind nipped at my face. I drew my jacket tighter around me.

"Why weren't you in school today?"

He offered me no answer. "Come on," he said instead, gesturing to his car.

The drive to his house was silent. I followed him through the front door where Mrs. Uchiha sat in the living room with Itachi; when his mother saw me, she smiled and waved. "Tenten! It feels like it's been ages since I've seen you."

Sasuke shifted beside me, "Sorry. I've been busy," I said by means of explanation. "Math is kicking my butt, so I got a tutor."

"Oh," Mrs. Uchiha said with a nod of understanding. "Well, it's good to have you around again."

I could tell that Sasuke was itching to leave, so I flashed a smile and a quick "thank you" to his mother and followed him up the stairs to his room. I took in the familiar surroundings that, in truth, I'd wondered if I'd ever see again. As we neared his room a familiar scent made me stop and sniff a few times.

"Is that kitty litter?" I asked. It seemed to be coming from Itachi's room, but I didn't dare open the door to peek inside.

"Oh," Sasuke said, "Itachi found another stray a few days ago."

"Why am I not surprised."

I dropped heavily onto Sasuke's bed and leaned my back against the wall as he closed the door. This was what I had been missing. Just him and me hanging out after school, like nothing had changed. Sasuke came to sit beside me, and for a few moments the room was filled with silence.

"It's been weeks," I said finally. I didn't look at him, simply folding my arms and staring directly ahead at the opposite wall. "Too long."

"I know." He let out a long breath through his nose.

"When you said 'keep my distance', I didn't realize that would entail not speaking to me, or not sitting with us at lunch, or staring at me all the time as though _I _was the one ignoring you." The words spilled out almost unchecked as my swirling emotions fought for control.

"I know."

"Do you really?" Now I turned to him, anger rising in my stomach like a dragon rearing its head. "Did you ever stop to consider how I felt about all this?"

"You have to know I did." He looked at me through the fringe of his long black bangs. "I thought I was making the right decision," he said quietly. "Seems I was wrong."

I stared at him, confused. "What, things aren't better with you and Sakura?"

"She broke up with me over the weekend," he said in a monotone. "That's why I wasn't in school today. Needed some space."

I blinked, and the dragon lowered its head a bit. "Oh. I'm sorry, Sasuke."

"I knew it was coming," he said with a shrug. "It was all a matter of when." His tone was casual, offhand. But I knew him, knew what he had to be feeling, and it made me forget the hurt and anger and resentment that felt like a boulder pressing down on my heart. I moved closer to him, arm-to-arm, and leaned my head against the curve of his neck.

"Wanna tell me about it?"

I couldn't see his face, but felt him take a deep breath and slowly release it. "She couldn't shake her doubts."

"She still thinks there's something between us," I said in disbelief, sitting up to look at him again. "So all of this shit over the past few weeks didn't accomplish anything?"

He thumped his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry."

I let out a long sigh. Being angry wasn't making it any easier for either of us. "Hey." I reached up and brushed his hair out of his eyes. "It's okay, all right? I forgive you. I'm not mad anymore."

He opened his eyes at my touch. "You should be."

"No." I shook my head, still twirling strands of his hair around my fingers. "You did what you thought would keep you guys together."

"And sacrificed you in the process," he muttered.

"Sasuke, look at me." He obeyed, and I put a finger to his lips. "Yes, I was angry. Yes, I was hurt. But it was all because I missed you. No matter what you say or do, no matter how stupid or whatever else, you'll always be my best friend. Okay?"

He nodded once, then caught my wrist in his hand again and lowered it from his face. "You always forgive me too easily. I kinda prefer earlier when you were beating me up."

"You want more?" I held up my fists and grinned. "Because I can give you more." Before he could respond I pushed him over, pounding him with light punches, but he recovered and knocked me onto my back with that dangerous, triumphant smirk he got whenever he was about to do something he knew would piss me off.

I narrowed my eyes. "Don't you dare," I warned, trying to squirm away from his approaching fingers. "Don't you even-"

With one swift movement he jabbed my sides, between my ribs, and I jerked so violently I caught him in the stomach with my foot. He groaned a bit and fell onto his back.

"That's what you get," I said indignantly, folding my arms. When all he did was wince with pain, I leaned over him. "Sasuke, are you okay-?"

He sat up so fast we almost cracked heads and bowled me over for a second time. "Got you again," he said with that same damning smirk, looking down at me.

"Child," I retorted. "You haven't pulled that since we were, what, twelve?"

"You still fell for it."

"Hey, I _did _kick you pretty hard. I'm surprised you didn't cry."

"Oh, yes, I'm practically distraught." He rolled his eyes and laid down on his side next to me. I folded my arms behind my head, and for a few minutes we stayed that way in silence. Just me and him, side by side, no sound but his deep, even breaths. It was as though a prized possession had been broken, but returned just as new and whole as it was before.

"Sasuke." I rolled onto my side to face him. His eyes were closed, chest rising and falling rhythmically. Gently I prodded his arm. "Sasuke?"

"Mm?" His eyes slowly blinked their way open.

"Someone's sleepy," I remarked, noting the dark smudges beneath his eyes. "You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. Just tired is all." He smothered a yawn with his hand and rolled over onto his back.

"You sure? I can go if you want."

"Oh, no, you don't." I had begun to sit up, but he seized the back of my shirt and tugged me backward. "Stay put."

"Yes, sir." I rolled my eyes and turned onto my side to face him once more. He wore that smirk again, but it was thrown off by the drowsiness in his half-lidded eyes.

"Tenten," he murmured.

I propped myself up with my elbow. "Hm?"

"You said you'd always be my best friend, no matter what I said or did. Right?"

"I'm not sure I like where you're going with this," I said, raising my brows.

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. "Just making sure," he said finally. Then he smirked. "Couldn't stay mad at me for long, could you?"

I gave his shoulder a shove. "Shut up."

He made a sound low in his throat that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle and closed his eyes once more. "So," he said after a long silence, almost making me jump with the sudden sound of his voice. "Who's this Neji guy?"

I blinked a few times. "Oh, he's Hinata's cousin. He just moved in with her family."

Sasuke gave a low "hm" in response, opening his eyes halfway. As I looked at him a warm feeling spread through my chest; I leaned forward almost unconsciously and pressed a loud kiss to his forehead.

"The hell?" Now his eyes were wide, and his normally composed expression turned to one of comic confusion. For just a moment I pictured him as his moody eight-year-old self; I could still remember the way his cheeks reddened the first time I ever gave him a kiss on the cheek. He gave me the silent treatment for the rest of the day.

I smothered a laugh with my hand. "You're just so cute when you're tired," I snickered. "Come on, Sasuke- you act like you've never been kissed before."

Something flickered across his face, but it was gone so quickly I almost thought I imagined it. "Shut up," he muttered.

I rolled my eyes, then smiled as I reached out a hand to mess with his hair. "I missed you."

He closed his eyes and didn't answer.

****A/N: UGH. Not happy with this chapter. But I wanted to give you guys something to chew on, because I've got some BIG stuff planned that I don't want to rush! Reviews much appreciated, and please stick with me and my slow-paced, mediocre plot! Thank you~****


	8. Chapter 8

"The importance of meditation in religion." Neji turned to me as I read from the slip of paper Mr. Guy had placed on my desk. "Not bad."

He nodded silently. My heart sank into my stomach as I set the paper down on the desk and slumped down in my chair. Barely two words had escaped him since sitting down to lunch. He seemed far away, his eyes like pale flints of steel that had lost their luster. When he looked at me, it was as though I had become transparent. It was painfully clear something was bothering him, but he was as silent and stony as a statue and just as responsive.

A movement caught my eye; a crumpled ball of paper connected with the side of my head, and my gaze immediately landed on the culprit seated at his desk with a smug look on his face. I scowled at him and rolled my eyes, to which he responded with a nonplussed smirk.

"Good to see you guys are back on track," said Ino. She propped her elbow on my desk and leaned her chin on one hand.

I nodded, but couldn't keep a smile from my lips. "Yeah."

Neji cleared his throat softly, and it took me a moment to realize that the sound was meant to grab my attention. I turned to him with a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

"We need to schedule research time," he said in a monotone, "as he isn't giving us the opportunity in class to work."

"Right," I said, lowering my eyes. "We can go to the library after school, cut my tutoring short for a few days."

He shook his head, and a spark of relief filled my stomach. "No. We will manage. After all, we also have weekend time."

"Oh," I said, and the relief changed to dread. The goal was to keep him away from my house at all costs; I'd have to make sure that we kicked it into high gear on the days we worked after school.

He looked at me, expression cool. "Is that all right?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," I replied hurriedly. Why was I suddenly stumbling over myself?

After dismissal, Neji went off to the library with the intent to meet me there for tutoring. As I gathered my belongings into my bag, crouched before my locker, I felt a hand drop onto my head from behind and looked up at Sasuke over my shoulder with a dry smile.

"Need a ride?" he asked, removing his hand to lean against the neighboring locker. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, the picture of cool, suave perfection; some younger girls tittered as they passed us by, whispering and giggling, fingers pointing at him. Sasuke, as ever, paid them no mind, his eyes trained on me.

"I actually have tutoring to go to," I said, a tad reluctantly. This was one of the few times that I had ever refused him in this regard; as I watched him, a slight furrow appeared in his brow, but it smoothed over in an instant.

"You know, I could always help you." He shook his dark hair out of his eyes. "Calculus is no problem for me."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said as I stood up, shouldering my bag. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He held out one arm to give me his typical side-hug, but as I pulled away to walk past him he grabbed my arm just above the elbow, holding me in place. "Wait," he said. I turned to him questioningly.

"Yeah?" I raised my eyebrows. "What's up?"

He opened his mouth, hesitated. "Nevermind, it's not important."

My brow furrowed with mounting concern. I had always known Sasuke to be cryptic, but this was entirely new. "Sasuke, what's the matter? I can cancel my tutoring-I'm sure Neji won't mind."

"Neji's tutoring you?" His voice was steady and even, but I could see a muscle working in his jaw.

"Yeah, I asked him to," I replied slowly. "Sasuke, come on. What's going on with you?"

It was very difficult for Sasuke to hide something from me, but it was only as a result of me knowing him for as long as I did, and being able to notice the near-imperceptible signs he exhibited whenever something was on his mind. But as he shrugged me off with a "We can talk later" and walked away, I felt as though a cavern was widening between us.

"Everything all right?" Neji asked as I sat down beside him. The library was nearly empty, save for the two of us and the librarian at the checkout desk. Outside the sky was a steady, solemn gray that darkened to charcoal as it stretched toward the horizon. Another storm was coming.

I studied him. "I feel as though I should be the one asking _you _that."

"I don't follow." He looked away, white eyes focused on the pencil he was rolling between his long, slender fingers.

"You've barely said anything these last few days," I said, careful to keep my voice soft-the librarian was eyeing us suspiciously from across the room.

"I assure you, it's nothing you need to concern yourself over," was his cool response.

I leaned back heavily in my chair. Maybe I had been wrong to think that we had made progress over the past few weeks. Sitting next to him, watching the fine planes of his face, I felt no more connected to him than a passing stranger. "It's just..." I paused. Something told me that I was rushing headlong into something I'd be better off letting go, but my mouth spewed the words before I could check myself. "It's just that you help me like you're doing now, and I just want to do something for you. To help."

"Do I give you the impression that I require help?" He looked at me now, and something stirred in my stomach that I'd never felt before. Whatever was going on inside his head, I wanted to know. Because something about him made me want to reach out and touch him, know his innermost secrets and hold them close to me like a wounded bird I desperately wanted to heal.

"Yes," I replied, and I leaned toward him, levelling his eyes with my own. "You do. I don't know about you, but I consider you my friend. And friends talk to one another, help one another. But you don't let me." What on earth was I doing? Even as I watched, I could see the muscles tighten along his arms, and an awful coldness seeped into his voice when he spoke.

"I believe I'm entitled to privacy if I deem it suitable." He dropped the pencil and began gathering his things; a tight, almost nauseating sensation gripped my stomach as he stood up, and without so much as a backward glance he strode out of the library, leaving me alone with his slowly fading scent.

When I walked through my front door, something was burning.

"Dad?" I called tentatively. I dropped my bag to the floor and edged my way toward the kitchen. When I peered through the doorway I found him slumped over the kitchen table as a slew of black smoke drifted toward the ceiling in rapid spirals. I immediately ran to the stove and twisted the gas off; I gagged as I took the badly scorched pot to the sink, containing a substance that might have once been something edible. How soon would it be before this happened again, and I wouldn't be home to stop it?

Dimly I heard him grunt from behind me. Over my shoulder I saw him raise his head, rub his bloodshot eyes with one hand, and as he made to stand up his elbow knocked the beer bottle beside him and sent it crashing to the floor. I froze instantly as I watched his face contort with rage.

"God-dammit!" He slammed his fist down on the table, then noticed me standing by the sink and lurched forward. "Whadaya think you're doing?" he slurred.

I dropped the pot and stood with my back against the sink. "Your food was burned. I was going to make you something else."

"Ohhh." He drew the word out as he stepped closer. "Is that so, huh?"

"Dad," I said, trying to keep my voice from shaking. I tightened my grip on the handle of the pot, never taking my eyes off of him as I continued to speak. "Please, you've had to much to drink. Just sit down and I'll-"

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" He stopped mere feet from me, and his ensuing yells made me flinch with their loudness. "YOU don't tell ME what to do, you no-good slut!"

My eyes scanned the room desperately, trying to formulate the quickest way out. He stood in the way of the entrance to the living room, but if I timed it right, I could reach the sliding glass door leading to the backyard. It didn't look like it was locked, which worked in my favor. But as I tried to bolt past him, I felt his hand seize the back of my shirt; I found myself on the floor, staring up at him with my heart pounding loudly in my ears.

"And where do you think you're going, huh? Huh?" His foot drove into my stomach, winding me. My mind screamed _run! _I rolled over and found myself pressed against the lower cabinets. I looked up just as his foot swung back to deliver a blow to my ribs. The pain was incredible; I bit down hard on my lip, and the metallic tang of blood filled my mouth as I struggled to move out of the way of his next strike. It had been awhile since he'd exploded to this degree; part of me thought he would actually kill me, and that filled me with a fear so intense that the tears that had been pricking at my eyes finally spilled over.

"Dad, stop," I wheezed. My head bumped the underside of one of the kitchen chairs. The sliding door was almost in reach now, close enough to touch, but he seized me by one of my buns and yanked me backward. My scalp seared white-hot as I scrabbled at his hands with my nails, struggling to break loose, and all the while he yelled and raved so loudly it was a wonder how the neighbors didn't hear; if they had heard before, they never cared enough to stop by. More than anything I wanted the doorbell to sound, or the front door to open to reveal some sort of savior.

I didn't know how I managed it, nor did I care, but finally I shook off his grasp along with a piece of hair and threw the glass door open. The cold wind hit almost like another blow, whipping against my face. I had only one destination in mind as I circled the house and sprinted down the sidewalk, breath rattling in my throat, hiccuping sobs lost on the gusts of wind. My ribs ached with each stride. I finally doubled over, gasping for breath. I had gotten away. That was all that mattered. I just had to keep going, keep going until I reached Sasuke.

My teeth clicked loudly together with cold as I walked the rest of the way to his house. I could see muted lights through the windows, glowing like welcoming lanterns in the increasing dark. Never had I felt so happy to see anything in my life.

Sasuke answered the door, to my relief. "Tenten?" The sight of him started another wave of tears. He took one look at me, at my no doubt pitiful appearance, before he seized my arm and dragged me up to his room.

"What happened, what's wrong?" He sat me down on the bed and crouched before me with his hands gripping my shoulders. I tried to take deep, steady breaths; I jammed the heels of my hands into my eyes. I couldn't bring myself to look at him, for him to see me this way. He kept saying my name until finally he grabbed my wrists and lowered them to my lap.

"Tenten, _what happened_?" he demanded.

"You're going to hate me for this," I said. I tried to laugh, but all that came out was a grotesquely strangled cough/sob mixture. And I told him everything. I didn't bother downplaying-he would no doubt see right through me. I did my best to look away from him, from the rage I would no doubt see etched in the flawless planes of his face. Sasuke's anger was not a force to be messed with, even when we were children. It had been a long time since I'd sparked his fury.

"You're right," he said when I finally finished. His voice was deathly quiet. "I do hate you for this." He released my hands and strode across the room, raking a hand roughly through his hair. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

"Sasuke, I'm sorry." I wiped at my face and let out a breath that was, thankfully, more steady.

"You're _sorry_? God_dammit_, Tenten, what were you thinking?" He whirled around and seized me by the shoulders. When I made no answer, he sighed and slackened his grip. I had expected this sort of reaction, but I didn't know that his anger would be directed toward _me. _Maybe it had been a bad idea to confide in him after all.

"I'm sorry," I said again, hating the way my voice cracked on the last word. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"I should kill him." He straightened with a dangerous fury glinting in his obsidian eyes and turned his back to me. "I should go over there right now and wring his pathetic neck."

"Sasuke, stop." I stood behind him and wrapped my arms around the firmness of his chest. "He doesn't know what he's doing."

He broke free of me almost roughly and whirled around. "How can you say that? How can you defend what he's been doing to you?"

"I'm not trying to," I said weakly. "Sasuke, please. I don't want to fight right now. Please."

I was a pathetic, sniveling mess, begging the way I was. I wanted to hold it all in, suffocate the ache in my chest. It was humiliating, having Sasuke see me like this-not since my mother died had I fallen so low. And when he held out his arms, familiar and inviting, I couldn't help but fall into them and bury my face in his shoulder.

"It's all right," he said quietly. He rested his head atop mine, and I felt his arms tighten around me. His heartbeat drummed a steady beat in my ear. I closed my eyes and breathed him in; I felt as though I could stay there forever, safe and warm and protected.

"I'm sorry," I said, voice muffled by the fabric of his shirt.

Sasuke sighed through his nose and released me, to my displeasure. "You know I'm not going to allow you to go back there."

Of course he wasn't. "Since when was I asking you for permission?" I said, affronted. "Like it or not, he's still my dad, and it's my responsibility-"

"Your responsibility?" Sasuke looked visibly incredulous. "You've got to be kidding, Tenten. Since when was it your responsibility to take care of a man that beats you?" His jaw tightened and he turned to face the wall; it was like Shikamaru all over again.

"Sasuke," I sighed, trying to maintain my slowly fading patience, "I love you, but you need to just c-"

"Don't you dare," he said through his teeth as he turned around to face me, "tell me to calm down. Did you think I was going to take this lightly?"

"No, but-"

"You can't go back there," he talked over me. "It's not safe."

"He's my _dad_, Sasuke! I can't abandon him. And who says you can stop me?" I retaliated.

Sasuke's face betrayed nothing, but his eyes told a different story. He was furious. Really furious. His stare seemed to burn through me; I did my best to maintain my own, hardly daring to blink until my eyes watered with the focus.

"You said you loved me," he said finally. His tone was flat, monotoned. He picked up a pencil from his desk and began rolling it between his fingers.

"Yeah, I did," I replied slowly, knitting my brows together with confusion. It wasn't the first time I'd done so.

"Then why won't you listen to me?"

I groaned aloud with frustration. "Because you aren't my parent!"

"Well, neither is he!" Sasuke snapped the pencil in half. He looked down at his hand and wordlessly pulled a sliver of wood from his thumb, and a crimson bead of blood trickled from the wound. "Not anymore."

I simply stood there in silence. Sasuke was right. In order to be a parent, one needed to act like a parent. And my father most assuredly was not the pinnacle of perfection. But acknowledging it didn't do anything to quell the anger still bubbling like boiling water in my veins. I had always prided myself on being able to make good decisions. Had I been wrong to delude myself for this long, to hope for my father to somehow come back from his alcohol-induced stupor? What child wouldn't want that, to have the father they loved returned to them?

"You shouldn't bait me with that," I said finally, folding my arms across my stomach. "With me loving you."

Sasuke looked away from his thumb, which was still oozing tiny droplets of blood, to me. "Either way," he said in a monotone, "I don't want you going back there tonight. Or ever, but that obviously doesn't seem to work for you."

I flinched at the coldness that laced his voice. "This isn't your decision to make," I replied stiffly. As I turned toward the door I felt his hand seize my shoulder and turn me sharply around to face him. His black eyes seemed to burn, mere inches from my face.

"Don't." His voice was positively venomous.

I blinked in shock. "I told you, Sasuke. I'm not asking for your permission."

His grip on my shoulder tightened to the point of pain. For a moment he seemed ready to start yelling, a muscle twitching dangerously in his jaw. Then, to my surprise, his hand slackened, but he still didn't let go.

That was when he kissed me.

****A/N: Ugh, I'm sorry this took me so long to write! I don't know how many hours I spent deleting and retyping and deleting and retyping...anyway, sorry for the delay, and I hope you liked it! ****


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